The Bermuda Hospitals Board Annual Report for the year 2019-2020 was tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, highlighting the body’s financial challenges at the onset of the pandemic.

The figures show $8.5 million in losses for the body because its $333.1 million in revenues were eclipsed by $341.6 million in expenses.

Matthew Pifer, the BHB chairman, said in the report that the year had been a “difficult one financially”.

He wrote: “In June 2019, Government introduced a new funding model which capped BHB’s annual revenue at $322 million. It was designed to cover the costs of the MWI grant, hospital subsidy, long-term care, dialysis and standard health benefit services.

“Under this new funding model, BHB’s revenue was no longer reflective of community usage, and BHB was no longer charging for the majority of services used.

“Unfortunately, the funding cap did not consider capital spending needs or the impacts from inflation. Additionally, no one could have predicted a global pandemic which began to take hold in early 2020.”

Mr Pifer said that the BHB improved care and found $13 million in savings, but the body was challenged by the need for capital expenditures and payments for the Acute Care Wing.

He added that while the bulk of the financial impact of Covid-19 was felt in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the closure of the island’s borders in March 2020 meant the hospital lost income usually provided by visitors who needed hospital services.

“This was a significant loss of additional revenue beyond the new revenue model,” Mr Pifer said.

“Financial challenges aside, the work to improve care and safety are touchstones of this year even as we worked through a long and often relentless pandemic.”

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BHB Annual Report 2019-2020.pdf

Michael Richmond, the BHB CEO and president, said the BHB’s affiliation with John Hopkins Medical International and work with the Institute for HealthCare Improvement had helped raise the bar at the island’s hospitals.

“In the first year of our affiliation with JHMI, we knew stroke care was a priority,” he said.

“The numbers of people having strokes in Bermuda are high, and fast, effective care can mean the difference between a near full recovery and a lifetime of disability or death. This on its own makes the programme worthwhile.”

Mr Richmond added that the start of the pandemic forced the BHB to push back planned implementation of its electronic medical record system.

“The full story of Covid-19 goes well beyond the fiscal year under review, but the response by our staff, their courage and their commitment started here,” he said.

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, also noted the collaboration between the BHB and JHMI, although she said by the end of the financial year, the pandemic had brought a new set of challenges.

“By the end of March, BHB was in full response mode setting up new processes and guidelines, changing how care would be managed, and seeking the additional supplies and equipment that would be critical in saving lives through the next fiscal year,” she said.

“Our first cases in Bermuda were in the last month of this fiscal year, then international borders were closed and a mandate for people to stay-at-home put in place.

“Thanking BHB staff, leadership and board is something we do every year in recognition of the improvements they make to care. In this fiscal year, our appreciation is not just for the improvements worked on, but the actions that were a critical part of a national response to save lives in one of the most devastating health emergencies Bermuda has experienced.”