A former Bermuda Hospitals Board chairman last night claimed the board's ability to focus on key issues was hampered because it was under such scrutiny from Government.

Jonathan Brewin — who chaired BHB from 2003 to 2005 — said an inappropriate amount of time had to be diverted towards dealing with one internal disciplinary matter because it had caught the attention of Cabinet.

This left the board unable to focus on wider issues such as the rebuilding of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, said Mr. Brewin. His comments come after Ombudsman Arlene Brock revealed in a report that BHB members had expressed concern about current levels of political interference.

Current CEO David Hill denies those suggestions, saying there have been major board changes since Ms Brock began compiling her report and that existing members are content they have the authority to do their jobs.

However, Mr. Hill failed to directly rule out claims that BHB's recommendation of Johns Hopkins Medicine International for a $13.5 million management consultancy contract was overturned by Government, which appointed Kurron Shares instead earlier this year.

Mr. Brewin told The Royal Gazette: "I was working with (then) Minister Patrice Minors. We developed a close relationship with the Ministry during the time I was chair for two and a half years.

"Then there came a time there was an internal disciplinary issue which became the target of considerable attention of the Cabinet.

"At that time, I would have to say that the internal processes of the hospital board as an independent entity were firmly under the microscope of the Cabinet."

Regarding attitudes among his colleagues on the board, Mr. Brewin said: "For a good deal of the time, we had a very healthy relationship with the Ministry on all sorts of issues, including the roll-out of recommendations of Kurron.

"There was a general concern amongst many of the board members that, although we were on the right track to put in place a number of changes, some of our efforts were being diverted to focus on one issue which caught the attention of Cabinet.

"An inappropriate amount of time was spent dealing with one particular issue, instead of focusing on broader issues like plans to replace the hospital at one point."

On his own background as a former healthcare professional, he said: "My belief remains the same. Healthcare is such a vitally important service, it should never be the target of political grandstanding. It shouldn't become a political plaything."

He said of Mr. Hill's remarks: "I was pleased to see David Hill comment that there's no political interference. I'm slightly perplexed because of the active turnover in chairmen since my successor was appointed in 2006."

Current Chairman Herman Tucker was appointed in April. His predecessor Edwin Wilson stepped down for health reasons in mid-February, having replaced Anthony Richardson last November.

Mr. Brewin also spoke of the review by Johns Hopkins Medicine International, which secret notes from Health Minister Michael Scott say needs to be written for the public to avoid embarrassing Government.

"I'm personally delighted that the BHB is actively involved with a company of excellence such as Johns Hopkins.

"We can learn a huge amount from their observations and recommendations on the way to move forward," said Mr. Brewin.

Mr. Scott yesterday confirmed the Johns Hopkins review would not be released currently but declined to comment further.

Permanent Secretary for Health Warren Jones said Mr. Scott's notes — published in part in The Royal Gazette on Tuesday — were not to be considered official.

Mr. Jones said the only true record of the meeting were the official minutes.

This newspaper offered to publish whatever Mr. Jones claimed was the true minutes, but he declined the offer and refused to say why.

Yesterday, Premier Ewart Brown — to whom Mr. Scott's notes on the August 18 Saturday Group meeting attributed numerous comments — claimed he was merely an observer.

"The Minister said what he had to say, the board said what they had to say. I'm simply an observer," he told a press conference. Asked if he thought the hospitals board had now lost faith in Mr. Scott, the Premier replied: "I don't think that they have lost confidence in him."

In a reference to Mr. Scott's claim that documents "may have been stolen" from his office, Dr. Brown added: "It's unfortunate that nowadays we have to lock up more things."