A former office site in St David’s will be converted into transitional healthcare facility, the Government announced today.

Channel House, on Longfield Road in Southside, will be repurposed to house 60 beds under a project aimed at alleviating space issues that have plagued the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, said the facility, which will be operated collaboratively by the Department of Health and the BHB, will house patients who are medically fit for discharge, offering short-term care and rehabilitation services before they return home or move on to another care setting.

Zane DeSilva, Deputy Premier and the Minister of Housing and Municipalities, was joined by Ms Wilson and Judy Richardson, acting chief executive of the BHB, at the St David’s site.

Mr DeSilva said the project — budgeted between $8 and 10 million — will provide dedicated service and amenity space after the Bermuda Land Management Company, which owns the property, decided to make the facility available to support the Government’s broader healthcare objectives.

He recalled that in 2023, the Government issued Requests for Proposal to determine whether suitable private sector solutions could be identified for the site.

“That process provided valuable information and allowed us to assess market interest and possible delivery models,” he said.

Multiple concepts were proposed — but Mr DeSilva said as the discussions with the Ministry of Health progressed, “it became clear that Channel House presented a unique opportunity to address a pressing public need while making effective use of an existing public asset”.

In November 2023, the Government announced that Channel House would be converted to a home for seniors.

Today, Mr DeSilva said Government concluded that “the greatest public benefit” could be achieved through a partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities.

It enables the site to support healthcare and long term care objectives that “might not otherwise be met through a commercial development model”.

The Ministry of Housing and Municipalities will oversee the delivery of the project, including planning, procurement, design development and construction.

Mr DeSilva said the project is expected to be completed in the next eight to 12 months, with the final designs, including for rooms, being completed.

Work will be undertaken in phases, with the immediate focus on completing procurement and taking on appropriate professionals and construction teams.

Key milestones on the project’s fruition will be communicated publicly as it progresses, he added.

Ms Wilson said it marked “a major step forward in strengthening Bermuda’s health system and ensuring that people receive care in the right setting”.

She said acute care beds at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital were consistently occupied by people who no longer require hospital-level care but who have no where appropriate to go.

She added: “In many cases, this does not mean the family does not want their loved one to return home.

“Rather, there may be practical barriers that need to be addressed for a safe transition and care.

“Bermuda has faced a shortage of appropriate long term care beds for years and this facility directly addresses that gap.”

Ms Wilson said it would improve patient flow and alleviate pressure on the emergency department of KEMH.

Previously, the Government announced plans to convert space within existing BHB facilities for additional long-term care beds.

A joint statement on June 2 by the ministry and the BHB stated that the quango will be adding 30 long-term care beds at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute

It came after an independent review of the matter was ordered in the wake of revelations from a former chief of emergency services, Edward Schultz, who branded delays in care a “crisis” in April.

Today, Ms Wilson said: “Government carefully evaluated options and alternatives including the smaller 30-bed concept at MWI.

“After detailed review, Channel House emerged as the faster, more sustainable and suitable location and option.”

Operational funding was catered for in the 2026-27 Budget, with Ms Wilson calling the move “a timely, practical and necessary intervention”.

Judy Richardson, the Acting Chief Executive of the BHB, said bed availability at KEMH is remained at a “critical” level, making Channel House a “perfect solution”.

Previously, plans to convert Channel House into a care facility were turned down by the Development Applications Board in a split decision because of a policy in the Bermuda Plan 2018 requiring ground-floor commercial activity in mixed-use zones.

However, the project was given the green light on appeal by Diallo Rabain, the former Minister of the Cabinet Office and Digital Information.

Channel House was built by the US Navy in 1942 as a military security building, and renovated in 1990 and 1999. It later housed the Government’s Information and Digital Technologies Department.