The Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) is searching for two new medical officers after two left the Island in the last few weeks.

One officer left at the end of January, while the other left just last week. A BHB spokeswoman said she could not comment on why the pair left Bermuda.

"The BHB normally has six medical officers on staff," BHB Acting Chief Executive Officer Venetta Symonds said in a press release. "As part of their role, these officers support community physicians whose patients are in the hospital.

"The community physician (who is not employed by the BHB) always has ultimate responsibility for his or her patients in these cases."

Any community hospital, and particularly one located on an Island, will have face staffing challenges from time to time, she said. "We must be prepared to deal with staffing issues and have the resources in place to ensure the consistent delivery of patient care."

The departure of the two medical officers is not affecting patient care in Bermuda, the BHB spokeswoman said.

Medical officers tend to be "junior doctors", and are employed full-time, she explained. The BHB is following the routine recruiting process in efforts to replace them.