The question of how much power district health board committees should have arose at a public health meeting in Invercargill yesterday.
Members of the disability advisory committee and community and public health advisory committee were asked to approve the committees' new terms of reference.
Committee member Kaye Crowther had concerns about combining the meetings of the two committees, which were separate before the Otago and Southland boards merged last month.
She suggested the decision be reviewed, to see if they should be split.
Committee member Dot Wilson was against joint committees.
She was concerned the meetings, held alternately in Invercargill and Dunedin, compromised the ability of the disabled to attend meetings.
After the meeting, Ms Wilson told the Otago Daily Times she feared disability issues would become "subsumed" into health concerns as a whole.
Chairman Errol Millar said it was important in setting the meetings' location and frequency that travel was kept in check.
Ms Wilson told the meeting it was crucial disabled people - and not just those who provid-ed services for them - could appear at meetings.
Committee member Peter Barron took issue with the stated terms of reference in a report to yesterday's meeting, describing DHB committees' role as that of giving advice.
Mr Barron understood it was not for committees to "advise" the board.
Asked by finance and funding general manager Robert Mackway-Jones to explain the difference, Mr Barron said advising the board implied it was duty-bound to accept recommendations, while `advice' was weaker.
The relevant government legislation was produced, which used the term "advice".
Mr Millar said the board took extremely seriously the recommendations and advice of committees, but generally they did not have delegated authority.
Ms Wilson said the committee process felt like tokenism.
When she indicated she was not sure the board always understood the advice it got from committees, Mr Millar replied: "you're criticising your own colleagues if you say that."
Mrs Crowther said it was frustrating when the board appeared not to take much notice of what went on at committee meetings.
"Often the work that is done round this table never goes anywhere else."
