Nurses living in hospital-provided housing say the Bermuda Hospital Board (BHB) is desperately of touch with the condition of their accommodations.

A number of nurses contacted The Royal Gazette following an article in which BHB chairman Edward Saunders said the nurses' housing had recently been spruced up as part of a number of initiatives to improve overall conditions for nurses.

The nurses would not be named for fear of losing their jobs, but they told The Royal Gazette the conditions offered to foreign nurses at the hospital are so substandard that it is very likely many will be interested in speaking to recruiters from an US-based agency coming to the Island next month.

The Royal Gazette spoke to a number of nurses between the ages of 24 and 44, both male and female, and all were very frustrated with the quality of their surroundings.

"It is very evident that Mr. Saunders has never set foot in the nurses' home," one nurse said. "We have a whole floor of nurses sharing one sub-standard fridge."

The nurses also said they are provided with tiny rooms, only minimally equipped, and must use shared shower facilities without doors which are used by both men and women.

They said there is never any hot water nor is there any heat in the winter and when they add an additional blanket to their beds they have been accused of stealing from the hospital.

While there are laundry facilities available, the nurses said they are coin-operated and break down almost daily.

The residence roof leaks and live wires are visible, the nurses claimed, and and they said they are also concerned about the security of their belongings.

Mr. Saunders told The Royal Gazette earlier this week that nurses' accommodations at the hospital had renovated recently, but the nurses said the only areas of the Queen Elizabeth residence that have been spruced up are the doctors living areas and the payment services area.

"Nothing was done for the nurses," one said.

Another nurse described her experience of recently arriving on the Island to take up her position: "I arrived at the hospital to sub-standard accommodation.

"The room's roof had fallen in and the windows were on the floor, there was a tree in the room.

"No one had even checked the room to see if it was habitable."

The second night, the nurse moved to another room.

"I found the bed infested with ants but when I told the accommodations officer she just said I'd have to deal with it and gave me some bug spray to kill the ants."

Meanwhile, the nurses said they are paying $600 to $700 a month to live in hospital and finding accommodation after the six months they are allowed to stay in the residence was very difficult.

The nurses also said they are not to allowed to have guests and if they want to arrange an overnight visit they must pay $40 for a guest room although the doctors are not subjected to similar rules. Roughly 50 percent of Bermuda's 500 nurses are expatriate workers but the nurses said the hospital does nothing to recruit overseas and rather relies on word of mouth from nurses that have worked in Bermuda.

The foreign nurses are not provided with travel or settlement allowances although many come from Jamaica, the United Kingdom and even Australia.

Alternatively, the overseas agency currently advertising for nurses locally - Assignment America - offers a relocation allowance and three months free accommodation in shared or subsidised housing as well as "the most generous compensation and benefits package in the industry". "I have worked all over the world," one nurse told The Royal Gazette, "and what is offered here is the worst of anywhere I've been."

Generally, however the nurses said they like Bermuda but just wished that hospital management was more willing to address their concerns.

And they invited Mr. Saunders to take a tour of the residence to view first hand the conditions they are enduring.

The Royal Gazette was unable to contact Mr. Saunders for comment yesterday.