The Bermuda Hospitals Board said a threatened nurses' strike has been called off after it upped a pay offer.

However nurses' union leader Ed Ball refused to confirm if any possible action had been avoided.

Bermuda Hospitals' Board Chairwoman Ianthia Simmons-Wade said Mr. Ball had been told of its increased offer.

And she said the Labour Relations Department had told Health Minister Nelson Bascome that the union had accepted the deal and was calling off the action.

But Mr. Ball, who is the Bermuda Public Service Association (BPSA) General Secretary, said: "The BPSA is awaiting for confirmation of the offer in writing which we have to take to our membership.'' He refused to comment further.

And Mr. Bascome agreed the union would have to get approval from its members before signing the new deal.

Of Mrs. Simmons-Wade he said: "Maybe she's being a little zealous in her efforts.'' But he said yesterday's meeting between the BHB and the BPSA had been very amicable.

If ratified, the deal would affect around 500 nurses at the King Edward Memorial Hospital and St. Brendan's Hospital.

Currently nurses earn between $44,636 and $52,534 a year.

The board admits the new pay deal could mean some posts go unfilled as it struggles to pay increased salaries.

Nurses voted overwhelmingly to give the required 21-days' notice of industrial action last Wednesday.

The BPSA said they thought they had agreed with hospital bosses that newer nurses would have gone up two pay grades last month.

But the board said no such agreement had been made and that the pay hike was to be staggered with nurses going up one grade last month and another next April.

However, last night the BHB decided to grant both raises at once.

It means lower grade nurses will get pay hikes somewhere between $600 and more than $5,000.

Mrs. Simmons-Wade said: "The Bermuda Hospitals Board has decided that it will be detrimental to patient care, the nurses and our community if this dispute drags out any longer.'' Nurses, BHB hold pay talks "Therefore, we are going to pay the nurses the sums over which there was a misunderstanding with the BPSA in order to bring this dispute to a speedy and conclusive resolution.

"In all fairness we would not mind if the union clarified that it was a misunderstanding.

"It can't help if the public or the nurses think the hospital board is acting in bad faith.

"The Bermuda Hospitals Board recognises that in order for the nurses to receive this pay increase it will be required to re-allocate funds in this fiscal year.

"We made it very clear in what we offered that the first step was all we were able to afford based on the amount we had for an increase.

"We don't have any more money, we simply have to look where we can find funds to pay the second step for those on grades 18 to 22.

But she added: "We want to assure people that we are not suddenly going to stop doing the improvements on equipment.

"It might just mean we won't fill all the jobs we budgeted for. But it is certainly not going to impact on patients whatsoever.

"The BHB values its nurses and is committed to ensuring that the morale of the staff and patient care remains at the highest level.'' The board said there was no news about whether the Ministry of Finance had agreed to its request to allow it to increase hospital fees by 4.5 percent instead of the 2.8 percent hike it had originally granted.

But Mr. Bascome said further money was unlikely as the budgeting process was a once-a-year event.