Auditor General To Review Hospital Finances

February 5, 2013

[Updated with Auditor General's comments] The Bermuda Hospitals Board confirmed that the Department of Internal Audit will undertake a review of its finances, and that their Chief Financial Officer Delia Basden has been put on Administrative leave.

A statement from the BHB said, “Bermuda Hospitals Board today confirms that it has been informed by the Auditor General that an official review will be undertaken of its finances by the Department of Internal Audit.

“The 2011-12 Financial Reports will not be fully audited until the review is complete. As part of the Auditor General’s review process, BHB’s Chief Financial Officer, Ms Delia Basden, has been put on Administrative leave.”

CEO & President, Mrs Venetta Symonds, comments: “Although we expect this to be a challenging and thorough review, BHB welcomes the opportunity to ensure accountability and transparency in its financial reporting.

“It will bring the same level of attention and due diligence to our finances, through the review by Department of Internal Audit, that is being paid to our organizational governance through the Clinical & Governance Review.

“We are currently looking at our options with regards to ensuring continuity of financial leadership during this time. We look forward to the completion of the review and will cooperate fully as required.”

Update 5.31pm: Auditor General Heather Jacobs Matthews confirmed that she has recommended an immediate review of the Bermuda Hospitals Board as a result of concerns raised during the conduct of the financial audit.

Mrs. Jacobs Matthews also recommended that the Chief Financial Officer of the Bermuda Hospitals Board be placed on administrative leave pending the review, which will be conducted by the Department of Internal Audit.

The review will also cover the operations of Healthcare Partners Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary of the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

The Auditor General stated that “It is standard practice for the Office of the Auditor General to refer matters to the Department of Internal Audit for review. The Department of Internal Audit will assess the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s operations to obtain reasonable assurance that its management control systems are adequate and operating effectively”.

The Auditor General further noted that the Department of Internal Audit’s observations and recommendations will be reported to the Bermuda Hospitals Board’s key stakeholders and to the Auditor General. Matters arising from the review will be publicly reported by the Auditor General

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  1. Delia Basden Resigns From Hospitals Board | Bernews.com | April 25, 2014
  1. Islander says:

    Another one put on administrative leave – why don’t these people say why and when is our A/G coming back???

    • Verbal Kint says:

      Beat me to it.

    • LMAO says:

      Well the biggest joke around the hospitals is, keep a close look at the budget because the present minister has —-

  2. Loquatz says:

    Hmm, you may recall that the last BHB annual report was very late, promised in April and finally delivered in Sept.

  3. here's a thought says:

    GOOD. i have heard nothing but horror stories regarding how she treated people. making decisions in a vacuum – going back on things in people’s contracts etc. i am sure we will hear ALOT more about dealings having to do with KEMH – it is shocking how that renovation has been run.

  4. Bobmarlin says:

    Go after all the suspected crookedness under the PLP.

    • whatever says:

      They don’t have enough time in power to achieve that ;-)

      But the BHB is a good place to start for sure!

    • Picks says:

      Why it always has to be about the PLP.

      • Mad Dawg says:

        Because they were managing the store for the past 14 years. Duh.

  5. Opressed says:

    The should do a audit on the shoddy treatment and — that go on inside KEMH.

  6. Vote for Me says:

    @ here’s a thought
    I think it is unfair to make such personal comments without Ms. Basden having the opportunity to respond. Patinece will require us to wait to see the outcome of the investigation, which I hope will be swift.

    It is also interesting to see how teh OBA responds. we can all remember the push for information, including the publishing of salaries when Dr. Thomas was put on administrative leave.

  7. Vulpes says:

    Brave face Venetta, I guess Scott Pearman is still too busy “managing” the pension fund fund and the fifth floor remodelling to bother making an appearance.

  8. Picks says:

    Vote for Me, please learn how to spell before submitting your comments.

  9. Victor says:

    I think the general public is completely unaware of both the very longstanding serious and systemic medical and administrative deficiencies of KEMH/BHB’S. It is now ime to expose this private fiefdom that has financially benefitted a few whilst completely and utterly betraying both the staff (especially medical) and the patients.

  10. Hmmmmm says:

    It is so interesting how all the comments focus on Dr. Thomas and its as if David Hill, the former CEO; and CEO through most of this never existed. Wonder what the difference is between them ? hmmmmmmmmm

    • Who wrote the report? says:

      What I find interesting is that your the only one that has mentioned Dr. Thomas. So where is exactly your controversy again?

    • Mad Dawg says:

      One of them was fired and one of them left with no apparent issues. That’s why dr Thomas gets all the comment. But all of it will get investigated. Let’s hope it’s in time to sort out the mess up there.

  11. Leo says:

    I am a former contractor at KEMH that used to get called to do work. I was always on time and most inportantly, on budget, I have not been called in years as it now takes five guys to do what I could do on a week.

  12. Suspicious says:

    Instead of hiring consultants we should hire a team of overseas auditors to look into everything our previous government was involved in.Also if need be go back Further than 1998!

  13. Nuffin but de Truth! says:

    Oh I can hear all the lip smacking and teeth kissing now,
    all wondering who’s next to be investigated.

  14. Bobmarlin says:

    Is there widespread corruption in the Civil Service?
    Many think that there is.The PLP were constantly suspected of breaching financial instruction. Is it time to confirm or deny corruption exists?

    • Justine says:

      @Bobmarlin. The Civil Service and the PLP are two different things – although I conceed that the PLP thought the Civil Servants were irrelevant and overturned all thier decisions! The question for me is – was there corruption? If so, who was responsible – the Civil Service or the PLP Ministers

  15. Vulpes says:

    Watch out for some kind of an Ewart/Zane/Derrick putsch through Beano as the heat gets turned up a notch and the truth about the deficient new facility (90 beds only, designed for tourists, missing a lot of general hospital necessities) begins to emerge – hiding what really happened here by quickly bringing down the OBA Government by any means possible is the only remaining out.

    It will be interesting if that inveterate fence sitter (albeit a well meaning one) Brewin has the cojones to get rid of all the top conspirators that did their masters’ bidding as the new BHB’S chairman.