A clinic planned for the West End will rank high among Budget items of note in healthcare when the financials for 2024-25 are revealed tomorrow in the House of Assembly.

Kim Wilson, the health minister, told MPs during last year’s Budget debate that construction was expected to start “early” in this coming fiscal year at the Mangrove Bay Clinic.

The former Somerset Health Centre at the Mangrove Bay Post Office has been closed since 2017.

If the construction goes ahead, the clinic will deliver a host of medical services to the West End, from oral health to paediatric check-ups and mental health services in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Centre.

A planning department application in 2022 stated that the building would provide “an office hub for health workers in this community to complete their administrative work, providing improved and efficient work practices”.

Hopes will run high for the impending 2024-25 Budget when it comes to the Bermuda Hospitals Board, which has received a multimillion-dollar annual block grant from the Government for the past five years.

The grant has been described by Ms Wilson as a temporary measure for the island’s hospitals, which have struggled financially.

There was no word yesterday from the BHB on the outcome of its latest talks with the Government about financing.

However, Michael Richmond, the former chief executive, told The Royal Gazettein December that priority items in hospital maintenance and capital investment could be at stake.

Hospital finances, which include meeting payments under the public-private partnership for the acute care wing, took a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic that required a bank overdraft in 2021.

Since 2019, the BHB has been given a block grant of $322 million from the Bermuda Government, although it fell short in the present fiscal year.

Cabinet also agreed to add $15 million to top up the shortfall in the hospital’s grant.

For 2023-24, the BHB was allocated $155 million by the health ministry, up $7.9 million on the preceding year.

The ministry’s share from the 2023-24 Budget added up to just over $199 million, marking a 2 per cent rise over the previous year.

Developments in the island’s transition to universal healthcare will be another item to look for in the coming year’s financial agenda.

The present Budget put aside $1.46 million towards programme management for universal coverage, with an additional $900,000 for consultants.

The move is a longstanding government pledge, but no timeline has been given.