In the wake of repeated calls for greater financial transparency, Bermuda Hospitals Board disclosed some details of pay for its senior management.With 18 months to go before the new hospital is complete, however, the BHB continues to face tough questions from staff over cost cutting and performance measures.Sources at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital contacted The Royal Gazette with concerns over Government’s continued reluctance to divulge salaries of upper echelon administrative staff at BHB.Requesting not to be identified, one source charged: “Five years ago, when the former CEO [David Hill] took the helm of BHB, it became known that the administrative officers were receiving annual bonuses ...“It has now come to light that the administrative officers no longer receive annual bonuses, because they have compensated themselves with salary increases.”In response, a BHB spokeswoman said bonuses had been suspended, effective this fiscal year.She added that the salary rises reflected in the BHB’s recently released 2010/11 accounts “have more to do with increasing the number of employed physicians and other staff, which increased the services offered by the hospital, rather than a simple increase in salaries, which are benchmarked and overseen by the Board’s compensation committee”.CEO Venetta Symonds addressed similar concerns this week at a KEMH town hall meeting with staff.In answers supplied to this newspaper, Ms Symonds defended BHB’s mission to cut costs — telling staff that a wage freeze is now in effect throughout the organisation.BHB is also preparing for the transfer of patients to its new facility by declaring a vacation freeze across the board at KEMH, from April 1 to June 13 next year.However, the KEMH source said suspicions remained over senior management pay — in part because “Health Minister Zane DeSilva had and has difficulty divulging the salaries of the administrative officers of the BHB”.Government’s refusal to give out specific details of the salaries has drawn flak from the Opposition One Bermuda Alliance.Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley took the Health Minister to task over the issue, saying the BHB Act stipulates that the salaries of senior officers must be revealed.Mr DeSilva has responded that senior BHB wages have never been made public.The BHB spokeswoman said the board was carrying out its fiduciary responsibility with “a detailed review of operations, to identify opportunities for quality improvements and cost containment”.Staffing levels are all under review, she added.As BHB tightens its belt, Ms Symonds also faced questions from staff on the new Interim Chief Performance Officer Jon Tomlinson.Mr Tomlinson was appointed in August, for a minimum of six months.“Two requirements for that position are that the candidate has a first degree in healthcare or business, preferably a Masters,” the KEMH source noted. “They must also have ten years’ experience in senior management. But Mr Tomlinson does not appear to have much of an educational background.”Another source said that as best they knew, Mr Tomlinson’s educational background extended as far as Leeds Grammar School.The BHB spokeswoman declined to provide details, but said Mr Tomlinson “worked for a number of years as an interim manager in the National Health Service and for other government organisations”, with a focus on performance and quality improvement.Faced with similar questions about Mr Tomlinson from KEMH staff, Ms Symonds reportedly addressed the question of why the CPO had been though “four jobs in the last four years”.According to a transcript, the BHB CEO said: “Jon is highly experienced in improving performance in organisations, including hospitals.“His previous experience has been on short term contracts, up to about a year, because his speciality is in turning organisations around to focus on quality and cutting costs, not on long term assignments”.Another KEMH source said the response had “ducked” specifics about the stated requirements for the job of interim CPO.The source added: “They say Mr Tomlinson is here for one year, but his picture is already on the hospital 2012 management team chart.“That leaves most of us with the impression that he’s one of the directors.”In her town hall meeting with staff, Ms Symonds was even questioned on cutbacks in the free coffee for staff at the hospital cafeteria.“BHB is no longer subsidising any coffee in department — including the fifth floor,” she answered.According to BHB’s spokeswoman, zero-based budgeting is being implemented by the Board — meaning that every line of budgeting must be examined, not just changes.Useful website: www.bermudahospitals.bm.