Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson last night called on Government to explain to the public exactly who runs the Island's hospitals.

The demand came after Premier Ewart Brown admitted in the House of Assembly that the so-called 'Saturday Group' would carry on meeting to discuss health care issues.

Last year, leaked notes from then Health Minister Michael Scott revealed that the group, comprising of Dr. Brown, the Health Minister and health officials, had met behind closed doors to discuss hospital business.

According to the document which was leaked to The Royal Gazette, the Premier opened the meeting which made references to Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) CEO David Hill being urged to remove one nurse in charge, and the Premier asking him to find nine Bermudians to put directly under a particular department head.

Comments were also made about the Johns Hopkins Report commissioned last year to review previous estate plans for a new hospital saying it could be potentially "embarrassing" for the Government.

BHB has dismissed the notes as grossly inaccurate, in some places untrue, saying they reflected only Mr. Scott's private notes and personal thoughts.

Two weeks ago in the House of Assembly, the Premier confirmed these meetings were held to discuss public health care and would continue with him, in private, in the "interest of the public".

But Mrs Jackson said this amounted to political interference and that even the Health Minister seemed to be sidelined by the group, she said: "Frankly, we no longer have a clear idea who runs the show at the Hospital.

"Is it the Bermuda Hospitals Board? Is it the management contractor Kurron? Is it the Bermuda Health Council?

"Or is it the Saturday Group of 'healthcare stakeholders', which last summer appeared to assume responsibility for strategic planning.

"It doesn't seem to be the Minister of Health any longer, since he has a seat in the Saturday Group, which appeared to be chaired by the Premier.

"For clarification, the Government should issue a new organisation chart for the Hospital so the public can at least get an idea of who or what is accountable to whom.

"We would also like to see the release of a duplication chart that lists seats held by various 'health stakeholders'."

The Saturday Group meetings were held in secret before Mr. Scott's notes were leaked to this newspaper.

Though these notes have now been branded by Mr. Scott, Mr. Bascome, the BHB and the Premier as inaccurate accounts of the meeting in August, they have not denied the meetings.

The leaked document revealed that the Health Minister, the Premier, Permanent Secretary of Health Warren Jones, Bermuda Hospitals Board CEO David Hill, chairman Herman Tucker, deputy chairman Wendell Hollis, management consultants Kurron Shares' boss Corbett Price and Bank of Bermuda CEO and Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust chairman Philip Butterfield were all at the meeting, which they called the Saturday Group.

However, who continues to attend these secret meetings to discuss public healthcare needs is not public knowledge because unlike other groups, such as the BHB and the Bermuda Health Council, the Saturday Group does not have to Gazette their members.

In the House of Assembly last week, Health Minister Nelson Bascome only referred to "health care stakeholders" being involved in the Saturday meetings.

Mr. Bascome added: "This particular meeting (Saturday group) is of appropriate healthcare stakeholders — very important when planning healthcare. It is confidential to ensure an open discussion can take place.

"Such honest discussion enables Government to understand fully what BHB is trying to achieve and trust them to make decisions on how to progress."

And in the same meeting of Parliament, the Premier said he had been invited to sit in on the meetings because of his extensive history in practising medicine.

He said: "Under the Minister of Health's leadership health care professionals and myself, someone who happens to have practised medicine for 35 years, were invited to discuss how healthcare is being provided and the future of healthcare.

"I want the public to know these meetings are held in the interest of the public of Bermuda and they will continue to be held in that same vein because this Government is committed to improving health care."