Public’s right to know

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The recent placement of the chief of staff of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on “administrative leave” has caused a good deal of comment.

That’s not surprising. When a person charged with the care and health of hundreds of patients a day is suspended from duty, then the public has the right to know what has happened — or to at least have some confidence that they will know in the future.

Similarly, the hospital may be run by the Bermuda Hospitals Board, but its ultimate owners are the public. It is not a privately owned institution, answerable only to its private owners. Or to put it another way, it is answerable to its shareholders — and in this case, the public are the shareholders.

For that reason, the public also has the right to know if Dr Donald Thomas is still being paid, how much and what his duties actually were.

The public also has the right to know why Dr Thomas was placed on administrative leave, and what happens to him in the future.

There has been an effort by the Hospitals Board in recent years to be more open and transparent. The construction of the new hospital, where regular updates on progress are provided, is a case in point, as was the whole tendering process.

But the reluctance of the hospital to comment in this case is disappointing. It may be that it considers employment matters to be private. It may also be reluctant to prejudge a situation that is not yet resolved, and will be aware that public statements now could be damaging.

If the first possibility has validity, it does not apply to the terms of Dr Thomas’ suspension. The second possibility is valid. But the Board should at least make a commitment to say what it can when the situation has been resolved. Stonewalling solves nothing — and tends to add fuel to the fire.

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