Louise Carr.

Subacute mental health bed numbers at the hospital would be halved under a Southern District Health Board proposal.

The Otago Daily Times reported that Dunedin North MP David Clark and the Public Service Association had warned clients would have less access to highly-skilled staff such as registered nurses.

Both suggested the board was cutting costs, and would not funnel the $250,000 annual savings to community-based providers.

Pact chief executive Louise Carr said she was disappointed with what she believed was a negative portrayal of the situation.

All staff were professionally trained for their roles at a range of skill levels.

''For anyone to say community staff aren't qualified is not only incorrect, it's insulting to the people we employ.''

At present, hospital stays were longer than they needed to be because of a lack of community beds.

She was confident the board would accept the necessity of beefing up community services.

''The fact is that people are often ready to move into the community, but stay in hospital for longer than they need to because there are no beds in the community. We welcome a more flexible model.

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Mental health care defended