A patients' group is calling for Bermuda Hospitals Board to be more transparent and reveal why its chief of staff has been suspended from duty.Mark Selley, one of the founders of Bermuda Healthcare Advocacy Group, told The Royal Gazette it was unacceptable for BHB to stay tight-lipped on the reason for Dr Donald Thomas being placed on administrative leave on July 12.“We need to know the reason for his departure, plus we need to know if this man is still being paid while he's on leave,” he said.“We need to know what was the straw that broke the camel's back and, if he's on administrative leave, does that mean he's on salary?”Another member of the group, a former BHB employee who was fired by Dr Thomas in 2010 and who asked not to be named, added: “We believe the public has a right to know what happened with Dr Thomas.“The hospital has said they have said all they are going to say on this. What we're concerned about is the fact that King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is our only hospital.“We need some level of comfort in regards to transparency when it comes to the hospital. How is the public supposed to have any kind of faith in the hospital if they cannot be transparent in regards to their actions?”Publicly-funded BHB has confirmed that Dr Thomas was suspended on July 12 and that the board is conducting a review but has refused to say why or to comment on whether he remains on full pay.A spokeswoman would not disclose his salary, once alleged to be as much as $700,000-a-year by Opposition MP Louise Jackson in Parliament. The spokeswoman said: “BHB salaries are not public information.”The advocacy group revealed it e-mailed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London on July 11 about Dr Thomas.The group complained, among other things, that he was able to get the chief of staff job despite being disciplined for an out-of-date medical licence while a practising doctor in Florida.Hugo Frost, desk officer for Bermuda at the FCO, responded on July 19: “I confirm that healthcare is a devolved responsibility of the Government of Bermuda.“I have therefore forwarded your e-mail to Government House to raise with the Bermuda Department of Health. They will request that the Department copies them in to their response to you.”BHB has previously responded to questions from The Royal Gazette on the Florida disciplinary matter, which dates back more than 20 years, claiming it was of a “minor nature”.Documents from the Florida Department of Health, which can be read by clicking on the PDF link above, reveal that a complaint was made by the Florida Department of Professional Regulation about Dr Thomas in 1990.The issue was that he practised medicine in the state with his medical licence in an “inactive status” from January 1, 1988 to about June 17, 1989 — a fact not disputed by Dr Thomas, according to the paperwork.Florida Board of Medicine ordered in February 1991 that he pay an administrative fine of $1,800 for the violation.A BHB spokeswoman told this newspaper last year: “The fine from the Department of Professional Regulation in Florida ... related to a simple, system-generated complaint regarding an out-of-date medical licence being renewed.“The hospital employing Dr Thomas at the time was fully aware of this and he continued to be employed and practice in the US in multiple jurisdictions. This was of a minor nature, not even requiring an entry in the national physicians' databank.”The Florida Department of Health's website indicates Dr Thomas was first issued a licence to practise medicine in the state on July 18, 1986, that the licence expired on January 31, 1998, and is now “null and void”.Dr Thomas later worked for the Los Angeles County Health Department and was announced as BHB's chief of staff on August 21, 2007, joining the board from the Massachusetts-based Greeley Company.He registered as a medical practitioner in Bermuda, according to the most recent Register of Medical Practitioners, on March 13, 2008.A BHB spokeswoman said yesterday: “We have nothing to add to our previous statement regarding Dr Thomas.”Health Minister Zane DeSilva has yet to comment on Dr Thomas's suspension or the board review.Useful websites: www.floridashealth.com and www.bhb.bm.