Some Cromwell residents are concerned they may be the "meat in the sandwich" after the town's two medical practices disagreed about sharing after-hours medical care.
Their concerns were aired the day after the Otago-Southland coroner, David Crerar, released his finding on the death of Simon Berry (32) in Cromwell.
Mr Berry died on September 5, 2009, after an asthma attack, and Mr Crerar said delays in the arrival of St John ambulance staff and health professionals could have made a difference in Mr Berry's survival.
Mr Berry's father Victor said he was concerned the lack of shared after-hours medical cover might have contributed to the delays the night his son telephoned emergency services.
"Nothing's changed on that side of things since then. That's what worries me," he said.
The Cromwell Medical Centre was established 25 years ago and was the town's only medical practice until Junction Health was set up in 2008.
Junction Health recently withdrew from providing 24-hour care for its patients, saying it had tried unsuccessfully for three years to share the after-hours care roster with Cromwell Medical Centre.
Junction Health director Brent Hollow declined to discuss the matter yesterday but stood by his statement published recently in a community newsletter.
The statement, from Mr Hollow and his wife Erika, a doctor and director of Junction Health, said the change to after-hours care had been "forced upon us".
"In order for us to be able to afford the excellent level of GP care we pride the practice on, we need to make these changes," the directors said.
The subsidies Junction Health received for after-hours medical care did not cover the cost of providing that care.
The practice wanted to share after-hours cover, so being on call was "more reasonable, sustainable and affordable for both practices".
The Hollows said the Cromwell centre had "refused", which left Dr Hollow responsible to cover Junction Health patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week for protracted periods.
Cromwell Medical Centre partner, Dr Greg White, said the two parties had discussions about shared after-hours care last year.
"The announcement [from Junction Health] was certainly not made at the end of protracted discussions. And until we read the statement, we had no idea they were planning to withdraw from after-hours care."
Dr White said the centre had tried to contact Junction Health "to discuss the current situation, but nobody has returned our calls or emails".
It was not unusual for medical practices to decide against sharing after-hours cover, and there were all sorts of reasons not to share an on-call roster, he said. It depended upon the individual practices and "what suits them and their patients the best".
However, the centre had not ruled out such an arrangement.
"It's something that may be resolved in the future."
Cromwell residents, declining to give their names, said they were concerned about what was seen as "a rift" between the town's two medical practices.
"It seems we're the meat in the sandwich, between two medical centres that don't get on," one said.
Dr White said the centre would continue to provide a 24-hour medical service for the area.
