Pressure on doctors has been eased by a new on-call system at the Maternity Ward at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Health Minister Michael Scott told fellow MPs.

An obstetrician — childbirth specialist — is now available at weekends, thus giving a break to medics who would otherwise be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“The care of newborns is an area that requires continuous monitoring and attention,” Mr. Scott told the House of Assembly on Friday.

The Minister said the new system was one of the most significant new initiatives of the year as he tabled Bermuda Hospitals Board’s annual report for 2005-06. Other projects throughout the year included the changing of the name of St. Brendan’s mental health facility to the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute to break the stigma associated with the institution. The hospital also launched an Ethics Consultation Service, to help patients and families deal with the often complex decisions related to care and the impact those decisions have on their lives.

Experts at the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation praised the move, according to Mr. Scott. Meanwhile, BHB supported a total of 14 post-secondary students and staff with scholarships, giving them the chance to pursue academic studies in areas of healthcare including nursing, occupational therapy, psychology, physical therapy, pharmacy, social work and diagnostic imaging.

Mr. Scott pledged the hospitals would become “truly centres of excellence” under the new leadership of BHB chairman Herman Tucker and CEO David Hill, with outside help from American consultants Kurron Shares. He said the Johns Hopkins review, due for completion in the coming weeks, would help this.