The Ministry of Health yesterday said it would investigate the claims, which relate to Adelaide neurosurgeon Glenn McCulloch's alleged comments at a medical convention.
Mr McCulloch has been appointed to a panel to advise the Director-general of Health about the South Island's neurosurgery service, as the Southern and Canterbury district health boards cannot agree on whether the service will be delivered from one site or two.
Mike Hunter, clinical leader of intensive care at Dunedin Hospital, yesterday complained to the Director-general of Health, Stephen McKernan, about Mr McCulloch's alleged comments.
Mr Hunter alleges Mr McCulloch commented to fellow neurosurgeons that he thought Dunedin's days of offering neurosurgery were "numbered".
He reportedly said the neurosurgery service should be based in Christchurch.
"He was clearly of the view that a `Darwin' solution was appropriate", said Mr Hunter, referring to the situation whereby general surgeons in Darwin are trained to perform emergency neurosurgery before patients are flown to Adelaide.
Mr Hunter said: "[Glenn McCulloch] is clearly not impartial or objective as he has, without doubt, pre-judged the matter."
The comments were reported to Mr Hunter by retired Dunedin neurosurgeon Sam Bishara, who is overseas.
Mr Hunter believes the comments were made at the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia's annual scientific meeting in Alice Springs last September.
In his complaint letter, Mr Hunter said both the chairwoman, Anne Kolbe, and Mr McCulloch represented "viewpoints from big cities", which were likely to affect the way they both considered the issues, he said.
"As I pointed out in a previous letter ... from me and my intensive-care colleagues, you will select the answer you want by selecting the panel according to their attitudes."
Mr Hunter noted that Auckland paediatric surgeon Mrs Kolbe was a personal friend.
Through a spokeswoman, Mr McKernan said the ministry would look into the matters raised by Mr Hunter.
He refused to comment further.
A spokesman for Health Minister Tony Ryall referred the ODT to Mr McKernan, saying the minister was not involved in the process.
When contacted for comment, Dunedin North MP Pete Hodgson said Mr Ryall should not "shuffle" the issue to the ministry.
The former minister of health said that in Mr Ryall's place, he would have called the process to a halt when it was revealed that independent consultant Ian Brown's report on the matter recommended the service should be based in Christchurch "without a scrap of financial analysis".
Mr Brown recommended the six neurosurgeons should be based in Christchurch.
The Southern DHB wants two of the six neurosurgeons in Dunedin.
"We need a very good reason not to have a one-service, two-sites solution," Mr Hodgson said.
While he could not comment on the substance of the allegations, it was unfortunate the comments had reportedly been made.
A feature of the neurosurgery battle was the conflict between clinicians' interests and those of the public, he said.
Labour health spokeswoman Ruth Dyson told the ODT Mr Ryall needed to step in to ensure the integrity of the neurosurgery decision process, because of the serious nature of the allegations, and the high calibre of the people reporting the comments.
Mr McCulloch could not be contacted.
Mrs Kolbe and the third panel member, consumer rights advocate David Russell, declined to comment.
The panel is yet to meet or release terms of reference.
