A decision on where to rebuild King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is due to be made by this summer.

The future of the ageing hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute went before Cabinet in November and behind-the-scenes decisions are progressing with an anticipated announcement being made this summer.

What is expected to be the Government?s biggest single financial development project will be the rebuilding of the KEMH with possible locations for the new facility including the current hospital site, the Botanical Gardens and the Arboretum.

An Estates Master Plan has been drawn up by the Bermuda Hospitals Board giving an overview of four options for the future of the hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, and it was amongst the documents considered during the Government?s top level deliberations.

Moving the hospital to the area of the Arboretum would be the least expensive option and quickest to achieve with the new facility possibly opening as early as 2010, while the option of rebuilding at the current KEMH site would be the most expensive and likely take until 2017 to finish.

Securing the millions of dollars needed for the project and clearing any environmental hurdles are the current issues being addressed.

Health Minister Patrice Minors said: ?We can?t proceed as quickly as we would wish. We have to review all the financing and re-visit the costing and see how much we can have to rebuild it.

?We are in contact with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Environment, looking at the financial implications and the land issue. The hospital survey has been very helpful. I?m hoping that by the summer a decision regarding confirming the chosen site can be made.?

The finalising of the hospital?s future is one of a number of initiatives that the Ministry of Health has in its sights for 2006.

As she enters her third year as Health Minister, Mrs. Minors spoke to and said: ?I?m anticipating some great things to occur in this Ministry during the coming year.?

In March there will be the second annual multi-addictions conference, a three-day retreat at Elbow Beach Hotel focusing on how to assist those within the community affected by addictions be they substance abuse, family issues, child pornography, sexual deviance or violence.

New Jersey Police Sgt. DeLacey Davis is one of the experts who has been working with the Ministry on the issue of youth and gang violence, an area that will be covered during the conference.

Other works in the pipeline include a policy for those with disabilities, currently in draft form, and a review of the system when juveniles and families go before the law courts.

?We are reviewing to make additions to the Young Offenders Act to assist young offenders and divert first time young offenders away from a life of crime and incarceration by giving them guidance on behaviour,? said Mrs. Minors.

Her department is also working with the Court Services on a pilot project named ?Just In Time? that aims to assist young people within the probation system to give them skills that will enable them to gain employment. This project has so far assisted 16 young probationers and led to six gaining employment.

The Ministry is also working closely with the Department of Works and Engineering to create a new shelter for the homeless in North Street.

?It will house 200 people in a combination of boarding for people like those who currently use the Canadian Hotel, the homeless and people who are in transition from being homeless to becoming independent,? said Mrs. Minors.

Other initiatives under way are the Child Abuse Register and the ban on smoking in enclosed public places, which takes effect on April 1.

The running and regulation of nursing homes is another priority for Mrs. Minors? Ministry. She said: ?There is room for improvement with regard to the situation of the nursing homes, and not just the ones under our control.

?We wish to have standards in place and we are working towards that and we wish the privately-owned rest homes to meet these standards.?

She said the new St. George?s residential care facility should be handed over to the Health Ministry in the spring, when it will be fitted out ready for residents to move in by autumn.

Mrs. Minors said improvements to the Hurricane Fabian-damaged Lefroy House nursing home in Sandys were continuing and she hoped it would be able to expand the number of seniors it could accommodate and follow the concept of the St. George?s home by having the ability to care for a whole range of seniors, from those who can manage a mostly independent lifestyle all the way across the spectrum to those with Alzheimer?s. Money has also been earmarked for improvements to the Pembroke and Warwick rest homes.

An area of concern to be addressed with new legislation is that of so-called ?elder abuse? where seniors are taken advantage of by handing over their rights of attorney and financial assets to individuals who then use them to their advantage.

Mrs. Minors said: ?It is a sad day when you have a person taking advantage of the economic position of a senior. We have had instances of seniors not being aware of their rights.

?Some might trust an individual to assist with financial responsibilities and there have been instances of individuals taking advantage of that.?

The Minister said her department was in the process of drafting and formulating legislation that will be protect the rights of seniors.

Explaining some of the elder abuse concerns, she said a senior might own a home and have a family member move in with their family and end up being ?relegated to a tenant in their own home?, and instead of collecting rent the senior often found themselves moved out to a rest home.