In a report to the Otago District Health Board's hospital advisory committee meeting this week, he said that at a recent meeting of clinical directors and leaders there were fears the concept of regionalisation meant centralisation, which would have major implications for some clinicians and services.
Committee and board chairman Richard Thomson emphasised that this was not what was being suggested in the clinical services concept paper put out by both boards' chief executive, Brian Rousseau, last month.
He said he could understand how fears about centralisation, which would involve services being concentrated in the larger Otago board, were more acutely felt among staff in Southland.
Mr Bunton, who was not present at the meeting, said in his report the concept of regional clinical services was considered to have a number of positive features giving the potential to improve the existing service delivery.
Working together and having some commonality in systems would allow greater opportunities for covering gaps at specialist level between the boards, he said.
Some more complex procedures could be pooled to maintain expertise in the region.
Mr Bunton said fears were also expressed about the practicality of operating and managing regional services when there was not uniformity in information technology systems and when there did not appear to be an aim to have a central budget holder.
There was still a considerable amount of eduction and discussion necessary on the concept, Mr Bunton said.
The message which had to be relayed was that it was more about systems and structure than about centralisation.
The paper from Mr Rousseau suggested regional clinical services would be clinically-led and funded from a single pool, with equal access across both board areas based on need.
They would also be provided as close to patients' homes as possible.
He also dismissed any suggestion of centralisation.
Consultation on his paper closes on December 5.
