Staff shortages at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital have resulted in delays for diagnostic tests on patients.

A spokeswoman for the Bermuda Hospitals Board confirmed that there had been “an increase in the turnaround time of its histology results”, due to a “temporary staffing shortage” in the hospital’s Pathology Department.

Histology is the microscopic study of tissues and organs through sectioning and staining to establish the cause of disease in patients.

The spokeswoman added that the staff shortage had also resulted in delays in the issuing of post-mortem reports, although other lab procedures, such as blood and urine tests, were not affected.

Earlier this year Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, confirmed that the production of death certificates was being held up by delays in the processing of paperwork by the Coroner’s Office and the Magistrates’ Court.

The BHB spokeswoman said on Friday: “Post-mortem reports are currently taking some months to complete.

“There is not a delay in the autopsy itself, just the write-up of findings.”

She explained that the BHB had one consultant histopathologist and one histology technologist on staff, and that “two additional staff members are going through the final stages of recruitment and BHB is in talks with overseas partners to assist if needed”.

The spokeswoman added that the current turnaround time of three weeks was expected to be cut back to one week by next month.

Wesley Miller, the BHB’s Chief of Staff, apologised for the delays.

Dr Miller said: “We understand patients want their histology results as soon as possible and we are focusing on reducing the turnaround time for these tests as a matter of urgency.

“We also apologise to the families waiting for the post-mortem reports. We understand they also need these important documents.

“We are working very hard to reduce the turnaround time as well as to complete the recruitment processes for the staff who have been hired.”