Director of Emergency Services at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital told Hamilton Lions in a speech this week.

Dr. Edward Schultz said up-to-the-minute medical equipment, improved emergency training of personnel and computerisation means Bermudians are receiving the best possible medical care for the size of the population.

And he said it was unfair to compare the King Edward with the best hospitals in the United States.

"We are not a university teaching hospital, we are a general hospital,'' he said. "One would be hard pressed to find a population in the US of 60,000 with a hospital as well equipped as the King Edward.

"We refer patients to the best hospitals in the States so it is very easy for Bermudians to compare it with them.'' His comments came as he made an appeal to the community to help finance the hospital's new CAT scanner.

The scanner is the most advanced to-date and is vital in making quick diagnoses of head injuries.

"We're all aware Bermuda is becoming more violent. We are all at more increased risk of an accident or assault and we all could need this service at some time,'' he said.

The high-speed scanner has played a major role in halving the number of deaths from head injuries at a time when the number of such injuries has doubled.

Dr. Schultz also attributed the drop in mortality rates to improved emergency procedures and trauma life support training for ambulance men and nurses.

Children especially benefit from the rapidity with which the scanner provides an image in 3-D and from different angles, he said.

Scanning is now lightning fast, taking only 16 seconds and a diagnosis can be made in 20 minutes, half the time of older versions. In the past children were sedated which sometimes lead to complications.

The speed of the new scanner is also vital in coping with multiple victims in the event of an air disaster or road traffic involving a number of victims.

But while an initial payment has been made on the scanner, the Hospital Board is looking to the community to find the remaining $560,000.

"It is a vital piece of equipment and gives us a tremendous advantage in dealing with trauma victims, said Dr. Schultz.

"The new scanner is another generation away from the old scanner -- it is the newest, best imaging device on the market.'' Dr. Edward Schultz