emergency clinics to relieve "over-burdened'' King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

And Progressive Labour Party candidate Dr. Ewart Brown also repeated his call for the lifting of a Bermuda Medical Council ban on family doctors bringing in overseas specialists to see their patients.

But Government and hospital officials rejected the call for a second hospital as impractical.

Dr. Brown claimed Bermuda's medical care system was "too close-minded'', adding residents' confidence level in it was "far too low''.

Healthy competition was encouraged in the business sector, but not within Bermuda's medical care system, Dr. Brown charged while speaking at a Sickle Cell Foundation dinner on Saturday night.

Competition would "eradicate the malaise which sets in when an institution is the only one of its kind''.

But Bermuda Hospitals Board Mr. Robert Tucker yesterday denied King Edward could not cope with the amount of ill and injured coming through its doors.

He said: "A lot of those who use the Emergency Department could really go to their general practitioner's. But I'm afraid that's common the world over.'' It would be very expensive to duplicate the facilities of King Edward, which he said was "a first-class facility''. "Another hospital would not be practical or viable.'' Health Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness also did not believe a second hospital was needed -- or any ancillary emergency care clinics.

"Like any emergency room, it is very busy, but it handles all that comes at it very well,'' he said.

Dr. Brown, however, said: "If we were truly progressive, we would establish urgent care centres near the ends of the Island, so as to take some of the load off the single central hospital.

"A casual observer can readily see the emergency room at King Edward is vastly overused by non-emergency patients. Urgent care centres would operate during the evening hours and would be well prepared to handle headaches, lacerations, Sickle Cell crises and the multitude of other medical problems.

"And if King Edward is still over-burdened, and cannot operate in a more cost effective manner, why not licence the establishment of another hospital? One which would compete in all facets of hospital operations.'' Mr. Edness said: "I would not, off the top of my head, advocate licensing of other medical clinics.'' He pointed out the Health Ministry's recently announced health care review was being conducted precisely to look into such issues.

"We are looking ahead to the needs of the Country by setting up this review,'' he said. The review is being chaired by Belco managing director Mr.

Alf Oughton.

In advocating a lifting of the ban preventing family doctors bringing in required specialists, Dr. Brown said the move would decrease health care costs.

Furthermore, patients would not, as insurance companies required, have to first pay to see a local specialist to get referred to an overseas specialist.

"Personally, this is somewhat of an insult to me,'' he said. "As a board certified family physician...I have referred patients directly to specialists and sub-specialists of every type, for more than 20 years (before coming to Bermuda).'' Mr. Edness said he supported better coordination of local specialists to bring in required specialists instead of patients going abroad.

He agreed it would save "a great deal'' in medical care costs.

However "Only a specialist knows when there is a need for another specialist.

That's why only specialists can invite specialists in.'' He pointed out that the health care review team had already been asked to look into the current GP/specialist situation.

"Dr. Brown is calling for things Government has already called for in its health care rview,'' he said.