A controversial subsidiary of the Bermuda Hospitals Board should be wound up by the end of the year, according to BHB chairman Jonathan Brewin.

Healthcare Partners Limited (HPL) was incorporated in 2008 to go into business with private partners as a subsidiary of the BHB.

However the scheme came under fire, facing allegations that hospital staff were profiting from its activities at the expense of home-grown medical companies, and Mr Brewin confirmed in May that the board had determined HPL should be scrapped.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Brewin said that only “one piece of the jigsaw puzzle” remains to close the subsidiary, and that issue is expected to be resolved by the end of the financial year.

In February, Ombudsman Arlene Brock called for a review of the BHB and HPL due to “grave concerns” uncovered while conducting the BHB’s annual financial statements audit for the financial year ending 2012.

The BHB Quarterly Report to the Community, released yesterday, said the review found that, due to the “unclear and questionable operational purpose” of HPL, auditors were unable to determine how it fitted into the BHB’s operational model and strategy.

The Quarterly Report stated: “The auditors therefore could not determine the true organisational impact of HPL’s existence on BHB’s operations, or whether HPL was achieving its intended purpose”