N<$c$>o matter our race, age or denomination, we all have health. Some of us are in fantastic physical and mental condition while others of us are failing in certain areas and still others have become diseased. There are personal aspects to our health and very public ones as well. How much insurance coverage, if any, we will be granted for a treatment or therapy? What services are available locally? What medications or herbs are available? Who are real healers and who are con artists? How much do medications cost? These are some of the very public aspects to health.Almost everyone can relate to a health problem which has touched them personally — an elderly parent who cannot afford medical insurance, the misdiagnosis of a serious condition, a lengthy trip of referrals, the list is endless. But amid it all there is now more than a glimmer of hope. The Bermuda Health Council has dug its feet in and begun work in earnest at reforming the Island’s health care system.

Former Health Minister Patrice Minors formed the council by posting an ad for interested parties to apply. Council chairman Michael Bradshaw said strong community minded people were chosen. “This is a real strength as it focuses first on people being able to work together,” he said. Members come with expertise in different areas of Bermuda’s health care but they do not come as a representative of those bodies. Mr. Bradshaw feels strongly that this offers additional strength to the Council, as it is able to reflect the needs of everyone in local society.

The aim of the Council is to organise a single, integrated health care system. “At the moment health care in Bermuda runs as separate systems with some loose coordination,” said Mr. Bradshaw. And he said this gives rise to cost concerns and quality challenges.

He said in the minds of many locals there is a problem and that while the problem might not be real, the fact that there is a perceived problem — is a problem.

He stressed the Council is aiming for a system with 100 percent access and that members have agreed that any decision it takes will have to be for the maximum benefit of all stakeholders. Also of immense importance to the Council is that decisions will be data driven. “Any group talking to us understand that they have to convince us with real data and not anecdotal evidence,” he said.

Integration of the system to ensure we don’t end up with a public system catering to one segment of the population and a private system catering to another is also a consideration the Council will use in reaching decisions. Cost effectiveness, cost awareness, collaboration and effectiveness are others. The real teeth of the Council will be that it licences all medical practitioners and medical businesses including medical insurance. Despite this heavy ammunition, Mr. Bradshaw said the Council seeks collaboration and not confrontation. “We started in January with one-on-one meetings with the stakeholders redefining the way we do business and having people understand we will do things based on evidence,” he said.

And he’s reporting success saying the Council has earned the trust and confidence of the various health bodies. “We’ve been invited to workshops with the HIAB, the Bermuda Hospitals Board have invited us to meetings, we’ve met with the Bermuda Medical Association and the Bermuda Medical Society. People are ready to share and look at solutions,” he said. “Groups recognise we have a role.”