The Otago District Health Board is to consider a proposal that would see elderly people referred to rest homes stood down for six months.
Under the proposal, people assessed as likely to need residential care will have their entry to a rest home put on hold while options are explored for them to stay at home longer.
A senior board manager, David Chrisp, says the aim is to help the elderly to stay in their own homes for a longer period.
Mr Chrisp says Otago and Southland have a greater proportion of people in aged care than the rest of New Zealand and wants the numbers to remain constant or be reduced.
The suggestion follows controversy about cuts to home help for the elderly that are being made to save money.
But Mr Chrisp says those cuts will not undermine the goal of helping more elderly to stay at home as they will only effect the healthier older people.
The proposal will be discussed at a meeting of the DHB on Thursday.
Proposal cruel and dangerous - Age Concern
Age Concern Otago says making people wait six months for care they have been assessed as needing is cruel and dangerous, and believes it will leave vulnerable people in the community.
The organisation's executive officer, Susan Davidson, says it is the duty of DHBs to provide services, not to cut them.
"Older people don't go into care on a whim. The bar is already set very high in that they've had an assessment from a specialist team who've found that they are not able to cope at home."
Ms Davidson says she wants answers about where the qualified work force to keep people in their homes will come from.
