At a health forum in Oamaru last night, hospital manager Robert Gonzales presented statistics for the past 12 months, which showed an attendance of 7224 at the emergency department - 158% greater than the current contracted indicative volume.
Waitaki District Health Services chairman George Berry said many of the cases presented were matters for a general practitioner.
If there was a financial drag-down, it needed to be addressed, and it was an issue that would have to be faced in the current year.
Numbers had been "ever increasing".
There would need to be community consultation before implementing charges and, if they had to be introduced, then they "certainly won't be the top end of the scale", Mr Berry said.
One woman at the forum questioned whether it was the expense of paying doctor's fees in Oamaru that was responsible.
"Is it any wonder they are using the emergency department?" she said.
