The perception of a conflict of interests caused by the same person heading the Bermuda Hospitals Board and the watchdog Bermuda Health Council has been resolved with the appointment of a new BHB chairman.

Anthony Richardson has ended his three-and-a-half years tenure with the BHB to concentrate fully on his latest post as CEO of the regulatory health council.

Back in July there was concern that Mr. Richardson would not be able to function in a truly impartial way if he was in charge of two organisations which might have, at times, different and competing objectives.

Assurances were given this would not be the case and Mr. Richardson would take a part-time role at the BHB and excuse himself when conflicting issues arose.

Now he has stepped aside from the BHB to make way for the new chairman, retired civil servant and former deputy principal of Sandy?s secondary school Edwin Wilson.

Making the announcement Health Minister Nelson Bascome said the appointment put to rest concerns for any conflict of interest between the two health bodies.

Asked if it was purely the concerns raised about such a conflict of interest arising that had led to the new appointment, Mr. Bascome said: ?Mr. Richardson comes with some very highly recommended positions. The media created this whole furore about him being chair of the board and CEO of the health council creating some conflict. We had some discussions about that.

?There was no real conflict. He has been tasked with getting the health council up and creating the structure.? The Bermuda Health Council?s stated aim is to regulate and improve health-related services on the Island, including aspects of how the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute are run.

Introducing the new BHB chairman, Mr. Bascome was accompanied by the BHB?s new chief executive officer David Hill, who has arrived from England and officially takes over in the role next Monday.

Explaining what tasks are coming up in the months ahead, Mr. Bascome said: ?We will be reviewing the health service utilisation profile for Bermuda ? this means they will be looking at the health services that Bermudians and residents use in Bermuda and those that they access overseas.

?This will allow us to determine which of our current services should be included in the new hospital and what new services should be added.?

The Minister also said work is continuing on bringing in a Charge Master project to modernise the way the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital bills for its services and how it generates its revenue.

And a partnership with Kurron Shares of America has been formally made, three years after Kurron reviewed the set-up of the hospital and recommended 200 specific and detailed recommendations for improvements.

Kurron is doing an audit on its earlier review to see which of the recommendations have been implemented and will work with the hospital to measure the improvements that have resulted.