The Progressive Labour Party?s zero-based budgeting meant it was spending prudently, Health Minister said on Monday.

But Shadow Health Minister accused Government of recklessly throwing ever more money at health without results and without accountability.

Health and Family Services, the largest in Government, has 430 staff and a budget of $138 million.

A review of spending, with dedicated accounting staff working from the Accountant General?s Office, will take place this coming fiscal year to increase effectiveness, efficiency and economy, said Mrs. Minors.

Organisations which receive grants will now be held to the same level of scrutiny as Government departments.

Corporate Services had worked on a Hurricane Fabian relief line, which attracted 110 calls, and had updated the Children?s Act and Adoption Act to take into account the role of fathers in looking after children.

The Employment of Children and Young Services Act 1963 was being updated to ensure the right balance is achieved between protecting children under 18 and allowing them to work.

Government carried out a survey of schoolchildren and consulted with employers, and the results will be put to town hall meetings to help draw up a new policy, said Mrs. Minors.

?The ensuing legislative changes will lay a framework to ensure that youth education and youth employment operate in tandem to guarantee that Bermuda?s young people reap maximum benefit from the positive developmental emphasis of the law,? she said.

The National Drug Commission (NDC), which has a budget of $2,857,751, had developed a national drug plan at the request of Government and NDC would modify its strategy according to this plan, said Mrs. Minors. All key posts in the NDC were now filled.

She listed pages of initiatives involving NDC, including awareness campaigns and treatment for addicts.

King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is to get $58 million, a rise of six percent, and St. Brendan?s Hospital is to $25 million, which is also six percent more than last year. The increases were for staff costs, replacement of equipment and routine maintenance.

Bermuda Hospitals Board carried out an operational review in 2003, focusing on ten areas, including human resources and governance.

A full staff of MRI personnel has reduced the number of overseas trips for this treatment by 80 percent.

BHB is developing a master plan for buildings at the hospital to replace existing structures which are acknowledged to have only five to ten years of life left, she said. The plan is expected to be completed next year and the new buildings developed within 15 years.

BHB has not had to use its overdraft facility and increased collection efforts had allowed it to refinance one of its bonds, saving $500,000.

Capital projects for the upcoming year include finishing renovation of intensive care ($4.1 million), upgrading the laundry ($400,000), upgrading the diagnostic imaging department, and upgrading the morgue.said spending on health had spiralled out of control under the PLP and taxpayers were not getting value for money.

He said spending had increased by 173 percent in the past ten years to $138,781,000.

He said poor leadership from the PLP over the past five years and money was being ?thrown? at problems with few results.

?Only a fool would argue that the Island is not on a sound financial footing at the present time, as it has been for many years now, and this is not a new state of affairs under the PLP. We cannot continue to spend without fiscal responsibility, prudent planning and sound oversight of all expenditures.?

The cost of health care had continued to rise and there was the ?fiasco? of the deadlock between the insurers and the medical society over a fee structure.

This was due to lack of leadership, and he added: ?Today we hear of no new initiatives from the Government to help ease this growing problem of the cost of health care.

?It does not take a rocket scientist to to predict that if measures are not taken to address this growing crisis of increasing health care costs it will continue to grow, meaning more Bermudians, employers and employees will find it increasingly difficult to fund insurance premiums.?

He accused the PLP of dragging its feet over the implementation of the 1997 Oughton report, saying ?little progress has been made ? few of the cost-saving measures have been implemented. The PLP Government and the Minister of Health must accept full responsibility for this failure.

?This inaction on healthcare reform has wasted millions of taxpayers? dollars and has caused the healthcare system to deteriorate further.?

Mr. Dunkley said King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and Bermuda Hospitals Board had been saddled with the same ?very poor? leadership as the PLP.

?We have witnessed over the years the complete collapse of our treatment system under the PLP government. There is no other way to describe it. In the midst of the collapse we saw and heard the previous minister (Nelson Bascome) point fingers at everyone but Government, which has ultimate responsibility.?

The PLP had spent $20 million on the NDC but ?what are the results for the millions spent?? he asked.

?The track record of this government and the NDC is poor, bordering on the pathetic. What I have seen under the PLP has been a slew of poor political appointments and the building of a private piggy bank with no accountability on spending.?

The NDC planned to open a women?s treatment centre, but questioned why it should do this when they ?can?t run what they are supposed to do?.

Mr. Dunkley called on Government to open up a halfway house for prisoners and recovering addicts being released back into the community.

He accused the PLP of sitting on a slew of reports or releasing them far too late. The Legal Aid report was for 2001, and the BHB report for 2002 had still not been tabled before the House.

?This House will give over $80 million to the hospitals this coming financial year and we can?t even get current financial information to help us see our way clear in the funding allocation.?

He described the $450,000 Kurron consultants? report a ?complete waste of time?. The PLP had spent $450,000 to be told what everyone knew.

Government had paid $125,000 to Work Inc. which was ?effectively closed down?, said Mr. Dunkley, asking what had happened to the money.

Health spending under the PLP had increased by more than 40 percent, rising from $1,470 per person in the last UBP Budget to $2,100 per person now. If current trends continued, it would reach $3,000 per person in four years.

?No matter how you dice, slice it or spice it to justify it, this is a lot of money and demands a government of accountability, responsibility and transparency,? said Mr. Dunkley.

He raised several points of concern at the hospital including a succession plan for a new CEO, the shortage of nurses, and the cleanliness of certain areas of the hospital.

A new laundry, revamping of the morgue, and a plumbing system which should be replaced, in addition to ward upgrades were some of the issues Mr. Dunkley said he highlighted last year and was still waiting to see addressed.

He said most people in Bermuda were satisfied with the care they received at the hospital. He recently underwent knee surgery at the hospital which was ?first class?.

?I have every confidence in much of what could get done at KEMH, but I also have some real concerns that must be addressed without any more procrastination, vacillation or second guessing by our leaders in health care,? he said.

He added commitments for upgrading these areas of the hospital had not been fulfilled by the PLP Government.

?Nothing has been done in this regard and it is totally unacceptable that these conditions are allowed to persist. It must be highlighted that the Emergency Department is overworked, cramped, and beset by too many patients not in need of Emergency Department attention.?

Mr. Dunkley said construction of the ICU was going at a snail?s pace, and the $4.1 million set aside for its construction must follow a specific frame in terms of the money spent on renovations and the expected date of completion this August.

He said installation of the MRI machine at the hospital was an initiative that was ?rushed through, leapfrogging other important projects such as the ICU which is still under construction?.

The impact of the MRI machine on health insurance costs could be detrimental since studies into the health care sector have demonstrated a higher usage of equipment and facilities results in a higher cost for the taxpayer.

He said he couldn?t understand Government?s statement that people save $1,500 per image because they don?t have to travel overseas to get an MRI scan. Unless you are staying at ?the Ritz Carlton?, the costs to get the scan done overseas are still cheaper, and he questioned the need for Deputy Premier Ewart Brown to install another MRI at his own medical practice.

Mr. Dunkley continued his speech by using Berkeley as an example to support his statement that Government cannot spend money wisely or on schedule.

?What assurances are there that a new building or renovations will be on time and on budget. Remember Berkeley. Sixty to seventy million to 100 million and still going like the Energiser Bunny!?

In his maiden speech in the House of Assembly, Sandys North MP responded to Mr. Dunkley by saying the hospital did a tremendous job in the community despite the numbers of challenges faced by the ageing plant.

He said the $83 million given to the hospital was not to be criticised but applauded since the hospital has received international accreditation and the funds were being used for the total restoration of the hospital.

Mr. Scott spoke about the bold initiatives introduced by the PLP Government including the Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative and the PLP?s bold philosophy and commitment to tackling substance abuse with organisations such as the NDC.