Preparation for the swine flu pandemic should not be seen as a waste of time or money, chief executive Brian Rousseau told the Otago District Health Board yesterday.
The board had managed swine flu, or influenza A (H1N1), well and it had been an opportunity to test systems.
In a report to the board, Mr Rousseau said swine flu planning was a workload which was "over and above normal daily duties" for staff, and it was taking its toll.
When approached after the meeting, he was not prepared to estimate what swine flu planning had cost the board.
However, during the meeting he said there was a "very real cost in terms of overtime".
During the past nine weeks, there had been much communication, monitoring and preparation in response to the swine flu pandemic, although until recently only a small number of staff had been involved in the work.
Board member Peter Barron asked what impact swine flu planning was having on elective, or non-urgent, procedures and outpatient clinics.
Chief operating officer Vivian Blake said patient care had not been affected.
About 30 staff across Otago and Southland were working on swine flu planning, but none had come directly from "patient care environments".
Mr Rousseau said international information was pointing to a spike in the disease in the community during 2009 and they could be in for a "rough winter".
"I think it is best we are prepared for that."
The biggest risk for the board in a pandemic situation was staff going off sick, which would directly affect the services it could provide.
As of noon yesterday, 825 cases of the A(H1N1) cases had been confirmed nationally, up from 711 on Wednesday.
