The restructuring would dump 23 management roles. The sweeping proposed changes disestablish 59 jobs and create 36 new ones.
The plan is staunchly opposed by the New Zealand Nursing Organisation, which says it downgrades nursing leadership. It is understood Mr Fleming has been citing the $2 million savings figure to staff representatives at closed-door meetings.
The figure did not appear in the proposal document released in April for consultation.
"We have signalled a ballpark figure of $2 million savings over the next two years," Mr Fleming told the Otago Daily Times this week.
"However, our core focus is on ensuring we have the right operational structure for the future, and this figure may change depending on the decisions that are made as a result of the consultation," Mr Fleming said.
In its submission, the nurses’ union calls on the health board to drop the proposal, and instead engage nurses in a "proper consultation". The top nursing role would become a "figurehead" with greatly reduced responsibilities, it said.
"There has been no clear explanation or rationale given for the necessity to diminish nursing leadership in the proposed way other than the chief executive’s desire to save $2 million and have a flatter structure and a single point of accountability.
"Nursing leadership will be disempowered both through the reduction in number of [roles] ... and in the demotion of nurse director roles from tier three to tier four, including the loss altogether of the nursing managers," the submission says.
Mr Fleming told the ODT there was no intention to "relegate nursing roles".
"The new chief officer roles have a substantially professional focus in order not to relegate nursing, and allied health, scientific and technical, interests."
He said the existing structure had led to "confused accountabilities". The final decision on the new structure will be released on June 23.
