at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital as part of the efforts to cap skyrocketing medical costs.

It is good that the hospitals are taking a hard look at how to control their costs. Rising expenses for equipment and medical supplies, combined with an ageing population which will require more and more medical attention means that costs need to somehow be brought under control.

Many of the expenses King Edward VII Memorial Hospital faces such as equipment and pharmaceuticals are essentially out of its control as they must be brought in from abroad.

But staffing, which accounts for much of the hospital's expenses anyway, can be controlled from within Bermuda and savings which can be made in this area -- without a reduction in the quality of service -- should be welcomed. It is to be hoped that any job losses which occur can be achieved through attrition rather than redundancies.

Unfortunately much of this debate is being conducted without the full facts because the two reports being used to justify the restructuring -- the full Monahan Report on nursing (a summary has been released) and a Government-commissioned Arthur Andersen report on public health costs -- have not been made public.

The public deserves to know what the full reports contain.

One other area which the Government desperately needs to tackle is extended care patients who take up about one-third of hospital beds, according to the Hospitals Board's own report.

Extended care patients are not "acute'' care patients, but individuals, often elderly who require a higher level of attention than they can get at home or in some homes for the elderly. The Government and the private sector need to find a way to provide homes for the elderly where they can get the required level of care without using the resources and staff of the hospital.

FA CUP BLUES EDT FA Cup blues Many of Bermuda's soccer fans were done a disservice when they were unable to watch the English FA Cup Final on Saturday.

It is hard to criticise the bars which contracted to show the game. They saw a business opportunity and took it and that's the nature of free enterprise. By all accounts, the bars had no objection to the game being shown on local television later, but the Bermuda Broadcasting Company was unable to work out a suitable -- and economic -- deal.

Sadly, the bar owners prevented thousands of fans who are unable or unwilling to go to a bar from seeing the highlight of the English football season. The bar owners may have gained a few dollars this weekend, but they have also earned the ire of many fans who have been deprived of an annual pleasure.