health care. The situation is no different in Bermuda. Therefore we are somewhat puzzled over what is going on in terms of nursing care at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

There is controversy over changes in the nursing staff and the new system which is being implemented as a result of a study carried out by a Canadian consultant who apparently recommended that 30 nursing posts, including 13 assistant unit coordinators and two assistant nursing directors should be eliminated.

We understand that Hospital officials are still deciding how the changes will be introduced and that meetings are taking place with staff at the Hospital so that they will be better informed about what is taking place. Keeping staff informed is important, but the public which uses the Hospital is too and the changes are causing public concern. We think it is quite natural for the public to question whether these changes will mean a lesser standard of care at Bermuda's only general hospital.

The public of Bermuda does not have an alternative to care at the King Edward unless it packs up and goes abroad for treatment. We believe that already happens to too great a degree and that people often seek overseas care for ailments the King Edward can deal with very well. However, it is a reality that if there is a hint of trouble at King Edward, people who are concerned for their own welfare begin to go abroad.

That may be all very well for the rich and the well insured but it is not good for the average Bermudian or the minimally insured who have to rely on the King Edward for primary care. The hospital should be looking for ways to cut its skyrocketing costs, but the public needs to be confident that the cuts will not lead to a reduction in service. Therefore we think it is wrong that the public has not been kept clearly and fully informed on what the nursing changes mean to them. Public relations in the health care field involves a large element of public reassurance.

As a result, there are all kinds of reports circulating in Bermuda right now -- mostly concerning how nursing care will decline. They are only reports and rumours but the fact is that rumours always circulate in this small place and when presented as "fact'', which they inevitably are, they scare people. The most frightening report right now is that generally qualified nurses are going to be used in specialised areas like oncology and the operating theatres whether or not they have any expertise in those fields. We are not saying that is the plan -- only that it illustrates the kinds of rumours which are now prevalent.

As so often happens in Bermuda, something which involves the public is taking place without the public being kept well informed. That is not unique to the King Edward Hospital because it is something which happens in many other areas of Bermuda's daily life but that does not make it right.

The Hospital had a public duty to explain these changes to the public and to tell the public what the changes would mean to them and their health care before they began to remove 30 people from the King Edward nursing staff.