A medical services subsidiary of the Bermuda Hospitals Board was dogged by “serious concerns” since it was created, Health Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin told MPs.

Healthcare Partners Limited (HPL) had problems with governance and its overall operations from its September, 2008 inception, according to a review by the Department of Internal Audit.

BHB announced in July that the subsidiary would be dissolved by the end of the current financial year.

The review found that “as a result of an unclear operational purpose for HPL, the auditors were not able to determine how HPL fit into BHB’s operational model and strategy”, said the Minister.

“The auditors therefore could not determine the true organisational impact of HPL’s existence on BHB’s operations, or whether HPL was achieving its intended purpose.”

HPL was set up to generate revenue through public private partnerships, Ms Gordon-Pamplin said, as well as providing BHB with “the flexibility to provide enhanced medical services” — but it “failed to live up to its financial expectations”.

HPL’s physician billing business will transfer to the hospital’s financing directorate, while the money-losing Medical Concierge is under review to see if the service can be retained by BHB.

The subsidiary’s third business unit, Ultimate Imaging Limited, is still in discussion with the board to allow HPL to be dissolved, the Minister said.