Proposals for a new hospital to replace the ageing facilities at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Centre have gone before Cabinet.

The master plan giving possible options for where a new central hospital can be built have been put before Government decision-makers as the latest step towards finding a solution.

The Estate Master Plan has been in the public domain since the summer and contains a number of options for Bermuda?s future healthcare system.

The review plan concluded that the KEMH and MAWI are both nearing the end of their natural lives and need to be replaced.

The biggest question mark hangs over the future of the KEMH and whether it should be rebuilt at its current location or moved to another place, with the Botanical Gardens and Arboretum the two most feasible sites. Moving the hospital to the Arboretum would be the least expensive route and also the quickest to achieve with a new hospital completed possibly as early as 2010.

The most expensive choice would be to demolish the existing hospital and rebuild it at its current location which could take until the year 2017.

This option would also entail difficulties during the construction phase, such as noise, dust and underground vibration preventing certain sensitive medical equipment being used at various times of the day.

Moving the hospital to either the Arboretum or the Botanical Gardens, it is envisaged that the current site would be handed to the Government to be either converted to a public park or another use.

Although the Estate Master Plan has now been placed before the Cabinet, the Bermuda Hospitals Board has declined to comment on the latest developments at this time.