Bermuda Hospitals Board: Eight Redundancies

March 7, 2013

Eight positions are being made redundant at the Bermuda Hospitals Board, a spokesperson confirmed this morning [Mar 7].

A spokesperson said, “Eight positions are currently being made redundant at BHB, making a total of nine for this fiscal year. Staff members in these positions are currently being approached, and will have been informed by the end of the month.

“As some employees are being offered redeployment opportunities, we cannot provide an exact number of people who will be actually leaving due to redundancy.

“As with other organizations around the world and in Bermuda, BHB is having to adjust its costs according to its income while maintaining a safe, quality service. Reducing workforce costs is one of the ways BHB is becoming more efficient and positions are only made redundant if they are no longer required by BHB.

“Other ways this reduction is being achieved through a vacancy freeze of positions that will not affect patient care, retirements, non-renewal of work permits, and, as a last resort, redundancies. BHB is not immune from the financial challenges facing Bermuda.

“Our priority is to maintain a safe, quality service, but we must do so while gaining all efficiencies possible. We are very grateful to all our staff for the work they do each day during these challenging times.”

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Comments (42)

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  1. What Do You THink says:

    Now there are less people to manage the population …sigh Health Care shouldn’t be compromised for money weather they in medical or a non medical position. The person making the cuts should have left first ..just a thought

    • Ben Dover says:

      Have you not noticed that there is less population now?

  2. Bermudian says:

    And here we go. It’s all the same PLP/OBA all the same stuff. However it would be interesting to know if all or any of the staff let go was Bermudians or expats. Just saying it would be nice to know.

    • sonoso says:

      i dont see any comments above referring to either the PLP or the OBA, except when i get to your comment.. give it a rest mate!

      • over soon.. says:

        I think the commenter notes that durign the PLP period, any job losses were attributed to the PLP..

        .. as you note now, job losses are attributed to just part of the economy

  3. Victor says:

    The money spent redecorating the 5th Floor by now departed CEO Donald Thomas plus all he and his pals’s other schemes that are now coming to light would have paid for many more salaries than these. It is therefore all the more egregious and scandalous that Dr. Thomas’s severance package and whether or not and what for he is still being paid are not matters of public record. The odour of political malfeasance remains strong.

  4. change? says:

    Wonderful, yet the minister of WandE can hire foreigners and justified it all. Sad day Bermuda. We voted for this, might as well cut the oleander branch and bring our own stick for licks.

    • Argosy says:

      Why cannot Bermudians buckle down and get as qualified and capable as these “foreigners”?

      Learn to COMPETE and stop whining…..

      • Qball says:

        Because the resources of the low and middle class are being sucked away (ie. raise in fees, paycuts to come with the civil service, etc) therefore higher education will no longer be as easy to afford.

        • Argosy says:

          Rubbish! This has been coming for a couple of generations when there were plenty of resources to fund these initiatives and then some.

          The problem was the abundance of low-hanging fruit and a total focus on instant gratification which fueled an orgy of materialism. A sound education coupled with discipline, good values and life skills were the last thinsg on people’s minds.

          We are now paying the price – plain and simple.

          Also, it’s not a problem that can be fixed either easily or quickly. It’ll take at least another generation before things can be turned around. But – nothing like a pain in the belly to get people’s attention and get them to see the value of these good habits and behaviour.

          In the meantime, if we want sound wharfs, we are going to have to import the necessary qualified labour – get used to it and stop the whining already!

        • Orbit says:

          You can get qualified courses online, other places, etc for cheap, ain’t that hard. stop making excuses…they just hold you back.

        • M3ke says:

          Excuses are tools of the incompetent.

      • Kam says:

        @Argosy – Please stop, your comment is quite offensive and ignorant. How about they hire the Bermudians that ARE QUALIFIED AND CAPABLE??? And not everyone can afford higher education BUT given the oppurtunity there are many that can go far if they were given a little help from their employers. Not all employers help with courses, books etc.

        • Argosy says:

          I am sorry that you are offended – that was certainly not my intent.

    • Bermy Gooner says:

      I love all this false moral outrage by PLPians.

      Where were you lot when $65 million of OUR money was wasted on an inadequate Dockyard pier with evidence of kickbacks and corruption riddled the project?

      Where was all this “we voted for this” attitude when the PLP issued more work permits to foreigners than any previous administration?

      Your false outrage is just a symptom of your over-zealousness and blind partisanship.

      So before any of you PLPians rant, please answer the two questions above, if you want your complaints/concerns to be taken seriously.

      • George says:

        AMEN TO THAT!

      • sure. says:

        LIEEEE!!! It’s obvious where you pulled that from! you sit on it everyday..

  5. Amazed says:

    This is amazing given that this organisation was paying bonuses to some senior management!

  6. I jus don't understand says:

    why can’t we encourage our high school graduates to enroll in nursing programs. 70K starting salary and benefits ain’t to shabby

    • Deliverance says:

      I’ve often wondered that too. There were many Bdian nurses in the 60′s and 70′s… what happened? And are there courses offered at the College? If a student could at least get 2 years of a nursing course in here and then only have to go abroad for the other 2 maybe that would encourage?

      • Bda-bionerd says:

        Look at what the kids are being told in school and by relatives and I think you’ll see there’s definitely more of a push to go into business related fields than healthcare.

      • Amazed says:

        Yes there is a program at the Bermuda College which is coorganised by a Nurse educator from the hospital and I believe is an associate degree after which the students go overseas to complete the full program.

    • Clive Spate says:

      Because nurses have to work very hard for long and unsociable hours.

      • Ole says:

        Actually they wouldn’t have to if there was a bit of common sense applied and a genuine desire to attract and retain Bermudians. The same is seen in the Hotel Industry.

        Surely the unsociable shifts, ie, weekends and midnight to 8am can be filled by workers on permits and or Bermudians that are comfortable working those hours and days.

        It is a bogus argument ( often used ) that to understand the role you must work all shifts and that payroll will be negatively impacted if this was applied.

        It was cear why this was being done 20 years ago when the folk making decisions were on work permits ( self interest / preservation ) themselves, however I am unsure why it remains an issue with Bermudians at the helm.

        • Bermy Gooner says:

          So you believe Bermudians should have the ability to tell their (potential) employer when they are going to work?

          When you enter into this industry (as I did for many years) you know full well the hours and committment involved. Hence the drop in Bermudians over recent decades, as this type of job did’t mesh with their lifestyle preferences.

        • Hey says:

          Human Rights Violation

      • sure. says:

        I must agree. They need to change their operational services AND perphaps hire more staff. It’s draining, and I know this via persons in the profession…

    • M3ke says:

      We do encourage our high school graduates. They for some reason have another agenda that is more important.

  7. Qball says:

    Jobs OBA needs to create is probably at 2100 by now…

    • sonoso says:

      and are you out there trying to get a job, or just on bernews complaining and waiting for the OBA to give you one?

      the OBA is not the PLP and will not just “give you a job” by bloating the civil service even more. they plan to do it by infrastructure rebuilding and renewaing in the private sector, have your resume and references ready!

      • Watching On says:

        I hate to say it, but some of the Resumes I have seen out there, leaves a lot to desire. However, there is help out there for those who need to get a presentable Resume written.

      • sure. says:

        yawn*

    • OBA hehe : ) says:

      The OBA promise 2000 jobs. More like – 2000 and counting.

      • M3ke says:

        That is now 2016 jobs they have to create to keep their word. Or have I missed some. Didn’t Capital G lay some folk off the other day?

  8. Victor says:

    Bring back Dr. Donald Thomas! He’ll know exactly what to do and how to do it without all this fuss – just like before and in Florida and California too.

    If the public and media were not such a bunch of nitpickers, good guys like Scott Pearman could just get on with it – making sure the pension fund is in safe hands, growing medical tourism so that there is plenty of cash all around, doing deals with upstanding overseas clinics like Lahey rather than lesser ones like Johns Hopkins, etc.

    Good thing too that the redecoration of the Fifth Floor has been completed before all these cuts – it is unthinkable that the hospital executives would or could be expected to get the job done in anything less than top drawer suites.

    I trust anybody reading understands where I’m coming from.

  9. god1st says:

    And it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.

  10. ella says:

    NOT TO MENTION THE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF LEGAL FEES + THE TWO THOUSAND TO THE GENTLEMAN BHB HAS BEEN ORDERED TO PAY FOR THAT BOTCHED (I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO CALL IT) TO THAT GENTLEMAN! KUDOS GOES OUT TO HIM FOR BEING PERSISTENT, THAT BHB DID NOT GET AWAY WITH WHAT THEY DID TO HIM. LESSON LEARNT BHB??

  11. rob says:

    Sack the Wardsman in Emergency !! He’s collecting a pay check for doing Nothing !! He actually refuses (point Blank) to work !! He’s an embarrassment !

  12. JONO says:

    Rob, your right….sounds like your a former ER nurse..no one has the guts to deal with the “Wardsman” nor to mention the relative new female aid….visit and see them playing computer cames

  13. rob says:

    Amen Jono ! They are Poison for a Busy Emergency department !! Shameful !