"It might sound harsh, but that's the reality."
Help could be given to promote discussions between interested people in Queenstown and Central Otago, but the board would not be a leader on the issue, he told its members in Dunedin yesterday.
It was also not up to the board to decide how $1.5 million, or whatever the scanner's costs were, would be provided.
The National Health Board report on Wakatipu Health Services says the scanner should be based at Lakes District Hospital in Frankton, but Central Otago Health Services Ltd is keen to have it at Dunstan Hospital.
At its meeting, the board noted the provision of the facility would require significant community funding for both capital and running costs from the wider Lakes-Central Otago region.
The board would communicate with the appropriate community groups in an attempt to develop consensus on the issue.
Board member Richard Thomson questioned the hands-off approach, saying he was not confident two competing communities would reach a resolution.
Also, he was concerned the board had a responsibility to plan for the long-term health needs in the area.
The two communities reaching a decision might not support long-term planning, he said.
He was worried that "in 10 years' time people may look back and say that was a really dumb thing to do".
Mr Butterfield said he thought it was too "early in the game to start digging holes for ourselves" because there was "plenty of talking space" before the situation reached that point.
In the meantime, a commercial provider might put in a scanner, he said.
During discussion of the NHB panel's recommendations on Wakatipu health services, Dr Branko Sijnja expressed concern these were being considered in isolation of other needs in rural areas.
Finance and funding general manager Robert Mackway-Jones said work was being done with rural hospitals to establish closer links between them and consider their part in the whole health system for the district.
Clinicians from the major hospitals should champion the cause for district-wide services under the "better, sooner, more convenient" banner, he said.
Mr Butterfield said all the recommendations would be studied in detail to consider their financial effects and issues on equity of access.
There had been some "pleasing developments" in discussions among clinicians in the Central Otago and Queenstown areas and that needed to be developed further so there was "some cohesion".
Wakatipu Health Services was also discussed in the closed session of yesterday's meeting.
The board's views on the financial analysis provided by the NHB after its report was published to support the recommendations have not been spelled out.
In the board papers to this week's meeting there was reference to a meeting being arranged with the NHB late this month to "discuss a number of questions" in relation to the assumptions made in the analysis.
The analysis suggested the proposed changes could save $657,000 a year.
