Hospitals Board Plans Clinical & Corporate Review
The Bermuda Hospitals Board provided details of its planned Clinical and Corporate Review, and said that the Ombudsman for Bermuda will be involved.
The hospital’s Chief of Staff Dr Donald Thomas was recently revealed to be on “administrative leave”, with Dr Victor Scott expected to take over as Interim Chief of Staff.
Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Venetta Symonds, comments: “So much has been achieved by BHB staff to improve our services, but we are listening to our patients and the community, and we know our focus has to be improving clinical quality further while driving down costs and being accountable to Bermuda for our service and activities.
“I believe we can raise the bar on clinical care by ensuring our clinical and corporate decision-making process is transparent, fair, collaborative, evidence-based and considers the system-wide implications in order to innovate and improve efficiencies for Bermuda as a whole. A Clinical and Corporate Governance Review will identify what more we need to do to strengthen that framework.
“Since I took over as CEO almost four months ago, it has been very clear that this is the perfect time for a review of this nature. Many clinical improvements have been made and we need to use the clinical and corporate data we now have available through new systems and surveys to take stock of where we are and plot our course ahead. We also know we are working in an environment that demands we find new ways of doing more with less, as the recent report from the Bermuda Health Council highlights.
“BHB already has Memorandum of Understandings in place with private and government insurers that cap the amount we can charge over the course of the year. The National Health Plan has been introduced that requires us to modernise, we have a mental health plan that is changing how we deliver services and we are forging ahead with vital preparations for transitioning acute care services to the new facility in 2014.
“Doing nothing is simply not an option, and I can already inform the community that BHB is not waiting to act where necessary. For example, we are already rolling out a Performance and Accountability Framework and internal contract reviews are well underway. The Clinical and Corporate Governance Review will give us external and independent advice on these changes.”
Mrs Symonds finishes: “Although we all know BHB has improvements to make, along with my 1,800 colleagues at BHB, I hope it is also recognized how far we have come. Patient satisfaction is rising in nearly all areas, and patient feedback along with clinical quality has continued to be the main driver for our improvements.
“We have the highest levels of accreditation with Canadian and US organisations and the quality of procurement and design of the KEMH Redevelopment Project has led to an international award. Bermuda should be extremely proud of the BHB staff, local individuals, stakeholders and companies who made it happen. The commitment I can make is to build on this, and to go further in ensuring confidence in our organization at all levels.”
The Board and BHB have requested that the Ombudsman for Bermuda to be involved. Ms Arlene Brock has agreed to undertake a process review and provide comment on the final report, which will be made public. She will perform this review function under section 5b of the Ombudmans Act 2004, following her prior review of the hospitals, A Tale of Two Hospitals.
Speaking on behalf of the Board, Chairman Mr Wendall Brown, comments: “The Board is committed to ensuring the highest standards of governance. We are already initiating a formal procurement process to select a qualified, experienced organization to carry out this review. We expect the review to take several weeks and it will cover both clinical and corporate areas.”
“I recognize there will be public interest in this report and I would like to be open about the process we are undertaking from the start. BHB is not funded solely by public funds; we are a quango. For acute care services, we earn fees from both the private and government insurance programmes, based on usage. BHB also has to compete for many lines of business with private providers both here in Bermuda and overseas.
“For this reason there may be commercially sensitive as well as confidential patient and employee information that prevents the full report from being made public. We have heard the community ask for accountability, however, so we are very pleased and grateful that the Ombudsman for Bermuda will be involved as a critical friend on behalf of the Bermuda public.
“Ms Brock will not only review the process, but will have the full report to comment on, and her comments will be public. BHB will make public a summary with recommendations and actions,” concluded Mr Brown.
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- Ombudsman Recommends Review Extension | Bernews.com | January 21, 2013
Why would the hospital arrange for an audit on itself…unless there are issues that they know of and want to blame on someone else. It appears that they are trying to distance themselves form David Hills administration or Donald Thomas’ activity.
The hospital has major issues.
Most importantly it is the abuse of power.
The exploitation of employees.
The excessive charging for services.
Cloak of secrecy.
What is most troubling is that the Minister of Health has not addressed this national crisis of healthcare credibility at the hospital…I am disappointed.
THe ombudsman has not teeth…all she does is investigates. and reports….who moves on her report…what ever happens with the report…She Vanetta and Brown are all in the same sociopolitical camp…We need a stronger opposition to hold this government accountable…
Donald Thomas’ case is out there for too long…we deserve answers.
OMBUDSMAN- I agree with most of what you say. When it comes to the Ombudsman, we the public become our own watchdogs by demanding that the directives she gives be ken.. The Ombudsman does presnt recommendations of change in various departments although she has no power to investigate the MP’s. The directors and secretaries of various departments continue to oversee the running of the government even in the absence of a government, they operate in the interim of elections ect. The Ombudsman utilizes her powers as best she can and is appointed by the Governor much like the Auditor General, their job is to work on behalf of the public.. Maybe someone can come up with a Watchdog Business plan to present to government. The watchdogs would be responsible for doing spot checks at various departments and organisations inconspicuosly and then report back to the Ombudsman who will be forced to make a public statment putting the persons/dept. under the microscope, hence troubleshooting the problem!
Who do we look for answers ? Zane has no clue, and else for Asstride Sterling, please excuse me for the spelling of her name, she for some strange reason she is backing up this so called health minister….. folks we are in serious trouble with our health care…… and all we are getting from these lot is bull&*()
We Bermudians need to stand firm …..and find out what the hell and who the hell is benifiting from this so called health plan….
But guess what you will never get any answers….and Donald Thomas is still getting paid big bucks … and we have our people digging in trash for a meal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!so what the hell happened to the “peoples party”
Paula Cox should be so ashamed of what she has done to this Island, but hey she lives high on the hog …..and to hell with you fools that still suport her.
Pepper.
Whats up with your insults. We who support this party are not going to turn the country over to people that dont respect us. IT is because of possible/probable racist, angry insulting persons, and mean spirited bermudians that we have not option other than to give this country back to the devil that we know…instead of the devil we knew so well for over 400 years of our history.
I worked at the BHB both not under David Hill’s administration as well as under his administration. Definitely a very different place…..in a very negative contrast. He is accountable to the extent that he selectively and blatantly ignored certain administrative matters that he was aware of and even directly tied to as a participant to the issues. MAJOR issues is the most condensed and PRECISE way that the BHB could be described.
ABUSE of power……check!!!!
EXPLOITATION of employees……check!!!!
I notice in this article that the CEO speaks repetitively about the clinical aspects of this review and BHB performance. I do hope that this does not mean that the corporate side of this takes a back seat or the even that the Donald Thomas issue is not the only one that ends up being “addressed.”
Employees are afraid to come forward with their experiences because of the retaliation and repercussions that follow….ie job loss. There are far too many accounts of BHB employees that go untold. The administrative employees faithfully submit dues to a union that does not protect them at all. In a shocking twist of events….they protect the employER. Go figure. Here is the abuse of power part (and the exploitation part) because who else do these employees turn to? Think carefully. No, it is not Government. This is not so much from a this party over that party perspective, it’s from a “law” perspective. That (our laws) is definitely another story for another day. If only we bothered to familiarize and protect ourselves against the “laws” that surround us…….SPEAK UP PEOPLE!!! It’s like mould or carbon monoxide, we can protect ourselves from these “killers” but we don’t because we do not realize that WE CAN make a difference and how important that difference is. Government….Unions……Ombudsman…….NO!!!
It is YOU that makes change!
We may have to go through something in order to realize that change but who in history that has made a change for the better hasn’t?? What diamond doesn’t get blazed with fire before it comes out as beautiful as it does after??? What rose may not have to be covered in crap (fertilizer….ah, manure) before it blossoms so gorgeous? You get my point. HELLO?? SPEAK UP PEOPLE!! Please, speak up. It is the majority that rules the day and no other.
Yes the BHB requires a corporate/administrative review. Why and how they are calling it on themselves and even selecting who would be involved is in the typical “cloak of secrecy” way that they do things. If more of us spoke up, it wouldn’t have taken this long for it to occur but if more of us speak up, and keep speaking up, we can give genuine purpose to how this goes.
@”Ombudsman”….we need to talk. Seriously. Can you email Bernews so that we can get in contact with each other?
Dear Brother,
I feel your pain. The depth of which few know. It is sad that you are bearing it without much sympathy. Such torment can be daunting and can break a persons faith. Sometimes when you think about Bermuda it seems like all hope is gone. That is when you should be most encouraged. At times like these the best of our people are squeezed to come out. Never give up hope and confidence in that ideal. Lots of people are getting fed up with KEMH…Even the blind patient can see what is going on.Yes the blind can see what is going on because they can read the bill even if it is in brail. Just remember W, you are gifted, you have helped many people, you are going through a tough time but the main perpetrator of your experience is now getting his due…Vanetta should stop trying so hard to appear to have the situation under control. She needs to make Zane get out there and talk…She just go the job and she is complicit with any problems that are there for the past 7 years…SHe sat by made a handsome cheque and did not say anything…ONe of the items that should be looked at closely is the contract with the Local Cardiologist who is being paid a MINT! Because he can bill as a hospital employee while he is still working in his office. Prior to billing as a hospital employee he was billing half as much as he can bill now…Yes a cost analysis needs to be done on services billed in hospital compared to the same services outside of the hospital and a justification needs to be made for the same services…I suggest we start at the Cardiology Department because it is where our greatest sicknesses are in this country other than MAWI but that is another story…The hospital heads need to get checked into MAWI on ADAMS ward where they will find the pill to bring them down to earth for raping us so badly…I know this as a fact…the billing at the hospital increased astronomically after they hired Donald Thomas and David HIll. THE Hospitalist service alone needs to be audited and we need to know what is the increased cost to insureres since that service began…>Please post this item….
It’s unfortunate that this headline quickly got replaced by the other news of the day being people will just as quickly settle into the complacency of it all until it hits the headline again. For the record, the corporate review should be given just as much extensive consideration as the clinical review. The 1800 BHB employees that the CEO spoke of should demand that. Even those with the pregnant pay cheques without a second thought to how they will feed the family. You too should be so moved. I keep getting the feeling that the corporate review will become just a tiny caption. There is plenty to be said on both aspects. Ask the people. Yeah I said it, THE PEOPLE….the ones who are affected by what comes out of this. WE ARE “WHY IT MATTERS!” BHB….PLP (“the people’s Party”)……do you REALLY want to know??
Thank you for your comments Ombudsman. By your words, I see that you do get it. The majority of the “support” that I’ve received has been the exact opposite. Conversely, they say give up….focus on something else….move on….you’re living in a fantasy world to have the expectation that you do, it’s nice but it’s not reality….and one “friend” was so moved to say the words that this fight is not “of God.” Can you imagine??!! That’s because they can’t grasp the factual concept that vengeance is not the goal, CHANGE IS. Some don’t understand why anyone would put themselves in harms way for the greater good. It’s not fun being here but I can think of a lot of people in history that did not have great fun standing in representation of right(s) but because they did, more people can walk through the front door. Someone will get that later.
You are very right about the torment coming from so many directions BUT I know that change doesn’t come from doing nothing. Somebody somewhere has to do something. I can wait until that somebody shows up or I can BE that somebody. That’s the choice WE ALL have. Because of that I will NEVER give up on the ideal where truth is publicly spoken, integrity upheld, and yes, where truth even prevails. It can happen because of WHO is in control. The promise was never that life would be fair but ALWAYS that HE would be fair. I’ll take that.
Ombudsman, I wish I could tell you the irony of the BHB “review” and the BLDC “newsflash.” Drops my jaw and makes me grin at the same time. We should talk. I’d really like to know what you think about a certain something.
Thank you Bernews for the “voice”.
are they reviewing themselves like BLDC?
I’ll give them a review for free: If you’re not in Intensive Care, forget it. Emergency and other ward Nurses suck their teeth at you, if they acknowledge you at all! Care is sub-standard. Why do you think anyone who has the means at all chooses to go off Island for the slightest treatment? Anywhere is better than the hospital. NOT what King Edward stood for originally!
+1
Even in “intensive care” patients spend the night listening to nurses arguing. If you need anything more than first aid the place isn’t adequate.
@ Ombudsman: “She Vanetta and Brown are all in the same sociopolitical camp.” I am not sure what you really mean by this statement. I hope it isn’t what I think you mean.
In any case, the Ombudsman has made it clear to me, at least that she is not afraid to call a spade a spade, in no uncertain terms. I appreciate her efforts to hold people accountable and to ensure that government begins to operate in the light of transparency.
Dear Pastor.
Why not say what you are speaking of “what I think you mean”
We need to be suspicious of the hospitals leadership. she has been there as the deputy CEO for the duration of David Hills administration…So I don’t know what she is talking about when she says she felt it was time for such a review…NO…or is there is a review of the practices of Donald Thomas? As such a review of BHB! For the BHB to call the Ombudsman is strange. The government, governor or the opposition should call for that…Yet I welcome the introspection…I think it is also wrong to try to hide behind patient confidentiality as a means to avoid telling the result of the review.
We are in trouble. Vanetta, David Hill, Mike Winfield, Lawyer Hollis, Herman Tucker…all oversaw what donald Thomas did…it should be no surprise what they find and all of them are culpable….What are your thoughts?
I’m always kinda surprised when I see comments like these on a story like this; the pessimism on this island is crazy. I think we can all agree that the hospital right now has a LOT to be desired in terms of provision of care, and i’ll be the first one to tell you some of the nurses have stank attitudes. But for this reason, shouldn’t we all be HAPPY that they’re planning a review?! It looks like the new CEO recognizes that a lot needs to be fixed from Hill before the new hospital opens, and can tell the public wants them to be more transparent with their decisions. Since it’s being done externally, hopefully it’ll uncover something that they ignored before.
Let’s all pray that the service improves before 2014 or else that’ll just turn out to be a huge, expensive, repeat of what we’ve seen for the past few decades.
It is good. Yet how many people had to suffer before the courageous person collected the data and launched a stealth attack on the BHB. They get to be hiding the facts surrounding the case but we need to know what the problems are down there. It is horrible. Vanetta should not try to play the public either. Just tell it like it is…