BHB Public Advisory: Hyperbaric chamber operation resumes
Tuesday 26 August 2025: Operation of the hyperbaric chamber at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital has resumed following a closure due to staff shortages last week Thursday.
-ends-
Show On Homepage
BHB Public Advisory: Hyperbaric chamber temporarily closed
Thursday 21 August 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board advises that due to unexpected staffing issues, the hyperbaric chamber at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital will be closed temporarily. We hope to be able to resume operation of the chamber next week.
Anyone who is planning to dive over the next 10 days or so should be aware that hyperbaric treatment will not be available.
-ends-
Nuclear medicine equipment to be replaced starting this month
Wednesday 6 August 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board today announced that as part of the diagnostic imaging equipment upgrade project announced in February of this year, the nuclear medicine equipment will be replaced starting later this month.
This is exciting news as the nuclear medicine equipment has lasted well, but is about 18 years old. The new equipment will have enhanced imaging capabilities, faster scan times, and enhanced visualisation and analysis helping to improve lesion detectability and diagnostic confidence.
As there is only one nuclear medicine machine, the service will be unavailable for over a month while the old equipment is taken out and the new equipment installed.
Based on current schedules and installation plans, this means nuclear medicine scans will not be available at BHB from 11 August to 24 September.
Although the majority of scans on this equipment are not urgent, patients who may require time-sensitive scans during this time will be referred to other imaging departments or overseas, as there are no other on-island providers. All other scans will be appropriately scheduled from later in September.
Notes to editors:
Nuclear Medicine involves the use of a small amount of radioactive tracers for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. The scan provides information about how a particular organ is functioning and is useful in evaluating the functioning of the heart, kidneys, thyroid glands and gallbladders and indicating the presence or spread of certain cancers.
BHB opens UCC for the public holidays and encourages a safe holiday for all
Tuesday 29 July 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) today advises that the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre will open over the public holidays.
The hours of operation will be from noon to 8pm on Emancipation Day (Thursday 31 July) and Mary Prince Day (Friday 1 August). This will be in addition to its regular weekend hours of 9am to 9pm (Saturday and Sunday).
Chief of Emergency and Hyperbaric Services, Dr Chikezie Okereke, comments: “We urge everyone to prioritise their health and safety over the entire Cup Match holiday weekend. It’s a great holiday to be with friends and family, but please plan in advance to ensure you have your medications and supplies. Don’t drink alcohol and drive, and be prepared for hot and sunny weather if you are out on a boat, at the beach or at the game – drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen, a hat and shirt.
“Our UCC service will be there for minor illnesses and accidents, and our Emergency Department as usual will be there for more serious conditions,” he adds, “but look out for yourself, your friends and family. You don’t want a medical emergency interrupting your Cup Match holiday weekend activities and fun.”
While the significant pressure experienced at the beginning of the month at KEMH has eased, CEO & President, Scott Pearman reminds people to take those ready for discharge home before and during the holiday period.
“Along with being responsible for your own health, please don’t forget family members who may be ready for discharge around the holiday period, and don’t bring someone in just for a safe place to stay,” he says.
“The hospital is not somewhere your loved ones should be for the holiday weekend unless they need to be here. This will cause problems for people with real emergency and acute care needs. Be safe yourself and do the right thing for your loved ones.”
BHB summer students see live surgeries through partnership with Liberty Science Center
Wednesday 23 July 2025: BHB partnered with Liberty Science Center for the first time this year to give a select group of its summer students the opportunity to watch live surgeries as part of their work experience at BHB.
Erin Basden, Coordinator HR Programmes
Coordinator-HR Programmes Erin Basden explains: “We secured 10 spots for a number of surgeries. It was great to be able to offer such ah meaningful experience as part of our summer student programme and we will be looking to continue this partnership in the future. It was very informative, eye-opening and offered our students another avenue to benefit their career journey.”
The live video events were held throughout June. The BHB summer students were able to peer into an operating room to see a kidney transplant, robotic surgery and neurosurgery, and were able to communicate with the doctors. There was also a Meet the Surgeon session with a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon who joined live and presented students with recorded footage from one of her procedures and discussed her career path.
One of the 10 BHB summer students who participated was Bermudian Sanaa Simmons, a first-year medical student who is studying at the University of Liverpool, who worked in the Quality & Risk Management Department at BHB over the summer.
Sanaa Simmons, BHB Summer Student
“The opportunity to witness live surgeries provided by the Liberty Science Centre was insightful and inspiring,” she says.
“I particularly enjoyed observing the paediatric ACL reconstruction, and Dr Samara Friedman was eager to answer our questions and share her story. From growing up as an athlete, to employing her dexterous skills throughout her younger life, she explained how paediatric orthopaedic surgery was best fit for her.
“Moreover, the kidney transplant surgery was well delivered; the procedure was narrated in an accessible way.
“We became further educated on triage processes, organ rejection, and long-term lifestyle changes to patients – ultimately reinforcing how imperative it is to showcase empathy in the medical field.”
BHB welcomes 45 summer students
Thursday 17 July 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board has welcomed 45 local students with summer employment this year.
“The students are working in departments related to their specific field of study and range from clinical areas like nursing, the lab, imaging services and mental health services, to information technology and finance,” said Nyon Steede, director of human resources and operations.
This year 12 of the 45 are medical students, with seven studying nursing. Nineteen students are pursuing studies in a variety of other fields.
“We are pleased with the high calibre of young Bermudians joining us this year,” said Mr Steede. “Following the successful partnership with BHB’s Intellectual Disability Programme last year, we were able to place five of their clients into our summer student programme, providing these promising young people equal opportunity to be acquainted with and gain workplace experience.”
The summer students employed by BHB were selected from 141 applicants. This year’s cohort is aged between 20 and 29. The minimum age accepted is 18. Two of the students are in their first year of college, while the remainder have been in college or university for two or more years.
“BHB scholarship recipients are given first preference in placements,” said Mr Steede. “This year we have welcomed five general scholarship winners: medical students Jahmir Celestine, Storm Gibbons, Veronica Swan-DeGraff and Shani Tucker, and nursing student Sarae Botelho.”
CEO & President Scott Pearman said: “We hope to inspire and give some practical exposure to students in their chosen field of study through our summer programme. Eager to develop the next generation of healthcare professionals, we also want to entice them to return to us after graduation for fulltime positions.
“In addition, BHB has partnered with the Ministry of Education. Through the year we will be providing opportunities for students at Berkeley Institute – the sciences and healthcare signature school – to learn more about careers in health professions. In the coming years, we hope to see these students join our summer programme and be awarded BHB scholarships to pursue their goals.”
Students interested in becoming summer interns at BHB should look for application notices in late December. The deadline is always the last day of February, with next summer’s deadline set for Saturday 28 February 2026.
BHB moves to Alert Level 3 due to overcrowding
Thursday 10 July 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board moved to Alert Level 3 today due to increasing pressure on the Emergency Department and acute care inpatient units at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
In addition to rising numbers of people seeking emergency care and increasing admissions, a large number of patients who are medically fit for discharge remain in hospital.
Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson said: “Currently, 36 patients who could be discharged are still in acute care beds, while 21 admitted patients wait in Emergency for those same beds. In some cases, there are no appropriate community placements for these patients. For others, the delay stems from a situation at home.”
Chief of Staff Dr Anna Neilson-Williams said: “Unfortunately, the people who really need the acute care beds are not receiving them. Patients boarding in Emergency are cared for by the ED team in tandem with additional nurses and a hospitalist from the inpatient units, but we recognise this is not an ideal situation for the patient, the family or the staff.”
In addition to the pressure caused by medically fit for discharge patients not vacating inpatient beds, increasing numbers of patients have been seeking care in the Emergency Department. On Monday, 115 people presented at Emergency, the highest number in a single day this year. Average attendance is 85 to 87 patients a day.
Acting Chief of Emergency Dr Ranjini Patton said: “Generally, almost half of patients who come to Emergency are low acuity, meaning they could be helped by their family doctor or go to one of the urgent care centres. We see patients in order of acuity, so those who are low acuity will wait much longer than patients who require emergency care.”
The hospital is also under additional pressure due to rising levels of COVID-19 circulating in the community. An increasing number of patients with COVID are presenting to Emergency.
“If you think you may have COVID, take an antigen test from a pharmacy,” said Dr Patton. “Please do not come to the hospital seeking COVID testing.
“If you have COVID and are very sick, contact your primary care physician for advice. If you need emergency care, call us first at 239-2009 so we can take precautions to ensure you are cared for away from other patients and visitors.”
Mrs Richardson said: “Please remember our patients are more vulnerable to infections like COVID, flu and colds. All visitors are expected to wear a mask while at the hospital to help protect patients, staff and yourself. If you are sick – even if you think you might be sick – protect our patients and staff by not visiting until you are well again.”
BHB offers CPR training to the public
Wednesday 9 July 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) is offering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) courses for the public. BHB is an international training centre of the American Heart Association (AHA). All CPR courses follow AHA guidelines and standards.
Trainer for this course, nurse Kelly Pitcher comments: “Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, and the victim could be someone you know and love. More lives can be saved if more people know CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator, commonly called an AED.
“We’re pleased to support the American Heart Association and its important mission to increase survival from cardiac arrest. We’re asking all members within our community to learn the lifesaving skills of Hands-Only CPR.”
BHB will offer the Heartsaver CPR AED course for $25 (cost of the booklet and materials). Training takes approximately two hours and is done to music. Stretchers will be made available for those participants unable to kneel on the floor.
Registering for the courses
Please note that this course is not appropriate for clinicians.
Heartsaver CPR AED Three sessions will be offered each day between 8:30am and 3:30pm. Chose only one.
| Saturday 16 August | Saturday 13 September |
| Sunday 17 August | Sunday 14 September |
Heartsaver CPR AED
| Day | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 |
| Saturday | 8:30-10:30 | 11:00-1:00 | 1:30-3:30 |
| Sunday | 8:30-10:30 | 11:00-1:00 | 1:30-3:30 |
To register call 239-1821 or email coursereg@bhb.bm
Please include the time and date you would like to attend.
-ends-
BHB staff collect over 6 tons of trash
Monday 7 July 2025: A crew of 34 staff volunteers from Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) lugged more than 6 tons of trash from the Caroline Bay area of Morgan’s Point on Saturday 7 June.
Organised by BHB in collaboration with the Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB) charity, the scale of the collection took the BHB participants by surprise.
Angel Smith, KBB executive director, said the BHB haul was the largest she’s seen for a single day event since she took office last July.
She said: “On behalf of Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB), I extend my heartfelt thanks to Bermuda Hospitals Board for their outstanding cleanup efforts on June 7th. Collecting an incredible 14,177 pounds of litter and bulk waste – just over 6 British tons – is an achievement to be truly proud of.
“Last year, BHB took part in the Islandwide Coastal Cleanup on September 26th and collected 2,182 pounds (just under 1 British ton) of litter. To see this year’s result reach more than six times that amount is simply remarkable. It shows their continued commitment to a cleaner, greener, more beautiful Bermuda.”
A BHB spokesperson said: “It was an extremely productive day. Our crew of 34 worked very hard. Staff were shocked at the volume of large items we had to dispose of. Many thought they’d be picking up bottles, cans and the like, but there were sofas, washers and dryers, sinks, air conditioners, large machinery, golf clubs, lamps, so much furniture – you name it and it was there.
“Participation was voluntary and representatives from a wide cross section of departments and skill levels were our team, including senior executives, middle managers and general staff. Our Sterile Processing Department had the largest departmental turnout.”
Ms Smith added: “A special thanks goes to Atchenson’s Ltd. for partnering with KBB and BHB to provide three 23-cubic-yard dumpsters, all of which were filled to capacity.
“Well done to all the frontline heroes at BHB. Your efforts have made a tremendous positive impact on Bermuda’s environment and our community.”
BHB CEO and President Scott Pearman said: “The teams at BHB never cease to amaze me with their commitment to do good for our community. Hauling over 6 tons of trash is no small feat. I was part of the cleanup team so know that first hand.
“Our team spent more than four hours doing this cleanup and would have continued, the enthusiasm was there, but we ran out of trash bags.
“We were pleased to partner with KBB and applaud the work they do to help us keep our island home clean. We also recognise all the other local companies who take part in cleanups, and we encourage those who don’t to try it.
“On behalf of BHB management and all our staff, we thank all the volunteers who turned out. You make us all proud.”
-ends-
Help shape the future of your hospital services – We want to hear from you!
Thursday 3 July 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board is creating a new Vision 2030 Strategic Plan and is asking the community to provide their thoughts and feedback in a short, online survey.
The survey can be accessed at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BHB2030. The deadline is 31 August 2025.
CEO & President Scott Pearman comments: “We’re asking you to take a few minutes to complete a short, anonymous survey. Your feedback will help us better understand what matters most to the people we serve and how we can improve the way we deliver care over the next few years. This feedback will be used along with internal surveys and groups, reviews of data and of our existing strategy. We know there are challenges, but we are excited about what the future could bring and look forward to sharing more as the strategy is developed.
“There is an opportunity for members of the community to also volunteer to be part of in-person focus groups. Anyone interested can email OD@bhb.bm with their full name, and the email or phone number that they would like to be contacted with.
“However you’d like to participate, thank you for helping us build a better future for healthcare in Bermuda!”
-ends-