The Government is considering “bold initiatives” to ensure that medically fit patients are cared for by their families at home rather than remaining in hospital — and has not ruled out legislation to address the issue.

However, Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, gave assurances that relatives would not be forced to look after loved ones who still required medical attention.

Ms Wilson spoke out after it was revealed this week that waiting lists at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital had reached record levels because medically fit patients had not been discharged.

At a press conference yesterday, Ms Wilson said that some families were acting irresponsibly by leaving their relatives in hospital — in some cases for months — when they could be cared for at home.

She said: “First and foremost, we do recognise that there are family members who are unable to care for their loved ones because of a myriad of circumstances.

“Perhaps they require a level of skill that is perhaps not acute care but it’s difficult for them to take them home and care for them.

“However, we regrettably have a number of families who, for another myriad of reasons, refuse to own up to the responsibility that they share with respect to the community and their loved ones to take them home when they are medically fit for discharge.

“The challenge that we have unfortunately is that it becomes a ripple effect. If persons are unwilling to take their family members home upon discharge when they’re medically fit to be removed, then it just adds to the bed blocking in the acute care wing, so therefore elective surgeries are cancelled or persons are being treated in the emergency room.

“Our plea to members of the public is that if you have a family member who is medically fit for discharge, please take them home if you’re able to do so — and we know that there are a number of families that can do so, and for whatever reason, don’t. That’s a responsibility that the family has to themselves, their loved ones and the community at large.”

Asked what the Government could do to force families to care for hospital patients ready to be discharged, Ms Wilson said: “It’s unfortunate that you have to get to a state where you’re perhaps looking at legislation and other initiatives to force people to do what is responsible.

“However, if that’s what we have to do, we have to do that. We are looking at a number of bold initiatives as we speak to ensure that in circumstances where persons are medically fit for discharge and the family members are capable but have chosen not to take care of their loved ones, we will have to look at stronger implementation to ensure that that takes place.

“It’s very difficult when persons don’t take personal responsibility as it relates to taking care of their loved ones.

“A number of those individuals who are medically fit for discharge on any given day is as a result of family members saying ‘I would chose to let that person stay there while I go to work, while I continue engaging in my life, and the hospital and the taxpayer can deal with that’.

“I don’t think that any taxpayer would appreciate that their hard-earned dollars are going towards the care of someone whose family member could take care of them at home but choose not to.”

Ms Wilson said that the Government was exploring other ways in which people who did not need to be in hospital, but who required medical attention, could be cared for.

She said: “All things are on the table. There are facilities that are available within the community so that persons are able to transition out acute care to those particular facilities.”

Ms Wilson was also questioned about staff shortages at the hospital. Yesterday it was revealed that cancer patients were being asked to go overseas for chemotherapy treatment because there were not enough oncology nurses at KEMH.

Ms Wilson pointed out that the Bermuda Hospitals Board — not the Government — managed the running of the hospital.

However she added: “We trust that the BHB executive will address this issue and we know that there are some challenges that highlight the need for strategic planning as it relates to staffing.

“A strong and sustainable healthcare system requires strategic planning as well as staffing levels and that they remain stable so that members of the public are not impacted.

“It’s an operational issue as it relates to BHB in which the Government does not have any control over, but we’re confident that BHB’s executive will address this accordingly.”

Asked if increased funding would help BHB recruit more staff, Ms Wilson said that discussions concerning hospital funding were “ongoing”.

She said the Government recognised that the BHB had to be financially sustainable but that there also had to be financial transparency and accountability.

She said: “However, when we’re talking about issues as it relates to staffing, all the money in the world doesn’t address staffing issues.”

Ms Wilson said that BHB salaries were competitive but that other jurisdictions had advantages when attracting foreign workers.

She said: “Regrettably there’s a worldwide shortage of health workers so Bermuda is competing against a number of other jurisdictions.”

“Many of the jurisdictions that we would normally recruit from to come to Bermuda to work ... because of the shortage, they have the advantage of, if they sign off on a contract in the United States, they’re probably going to get permanent residency. Of course we don’t offer that in those type of circumstances.

“We are competing globally with some big players who can offer citizenship and of course we are unable to do that.”