Update on bed boarding status at KEMH

Thursday 3 April 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board today provided an update on its bed situation.

CEO & President, Scott Pearman comments: “Following the initial crisis, our surge response included opening up additional space and doubling patients in two of the larger ACW acute care unit rooms on each floor. A really big thank you to our staff for stepping up in that moment. We had conversations with our teams and union partners to address concerns. This, along with a concerted focus working with patients and families to increase discharges, helped alleviate pressure.

“The number of people waiting for a bed in the Emergency Department initially went down by nearly 50%. Some additional space was closed due to the improvement, though the rooms with two patients in the ACW remained. However, overall we continue to face sustained pressure and BHB remains at Alert Level 2. Along with the immediate responses to real-time surges, we continue to work on longer term plans, such at-home monitoring and bed flow improvements to provide relief.”

Current situation

• ED boarding has averaged 13 patients over the past 7 days, with a rising trend in the last four days—from 10 to 19 boarders.
• Discharges have outpaced admissions only once in the past 5 days
• Boarding levels remain above the threshold for relief action

BHB response:

As pressure is rising again, BHB is once again opening additional space. This action helps open beds faster, reduce backup in the Emergency Department, and eases crowding across inpatient units without compromising care. We will continue with our current surge actions, such as having two patients in certain ACW acute care rooms.

Bed capacity is reviewed by a team of BHB staff from across clinical and support units twice a day, and the organisation will continue to monitor the situation to ensure we respond appropriately, based on the data.

Other ideas for improving BHB’s response to surges are being worked on by a BHB staff and leadership task force, along with longer term solutions that may help us discharge safely earlier, or avoid admission altogether, such as at-home monitoring equipment, which would allow the hospital to monitor an individual at home, rather than have them waiting in hospital.

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