Gommans said the DHB had only received the report on Wednesday night this week so had not had an opportunity to fully review the data used, but the report failed to acknowledge that assessments for care did not only determine possible suitability to residential care, but also for access to increased home support services.
"No-one who needs to be in an aged residential care facility in Hawke's Bay is denied a bed, and neither do they wait in a queue.
"There are usually beds available in aged residential care facilities in Hawke's Bay but we don't force people into them – it's every person's choice."
Gommans said programmes, such as engAGE delivered by the DHB or Enliven delivered by Presbyterian Support Services East Coast, helped older people remain in their own homes, and were what older people had asked for.
"While aged residential care facilities provide a good service when it's needed, we would always want our older people to have a choice and be supported in that choice."
Dr Lucy Fergus worked with the engAGE service and said most people told her they wanted to be in independent in their home as long as they could.
"I think the report is a bit misleading - they are indicating people with high MAPLe scores are waiting a long time to enter aged residential care, and it looks like the score is being used as a signal that people should be entering residential care.
"In fact the MAPLe score is a priority indicator, and a higher score means you are a priority to receive services which would prevent you going to hospital or into aged residential care.
"It's not a threshold - it indicates that people have high needs.
"In other areas if that support is not available people do not have choices - having heard what our older people wanted Hawke's Bay has invested heavily in the support services that enable them to stay at home longer - so in fact we are doing well."
A DHB spokesperson said home care providers were audited against national Home and Community Support Sector Standards.
The DHB had contracts with all of its providers for home-based care, and organisations which were contracted for that were obliged to fulfil their duties including providing quality and safe care.
Contracts were regularly reviewed, and people could complain directly to the DHB if they weren't happy with their level of service. Complaints would always be followed up. If there were still concerns people could contact the Health and Disability Commissioner
They added that the DHB was in daily contact with rest homes and, as of Wednesday morning this week, half of the 26 facilities in Hawke's Bay that offered a rest-home level of care had vacancies.