The first in a series of meetings to gather public input on how to improve Bermuda?s two hospitals was held last night at Sandys Secondary Middle School.

A handful of locals turned up to express their views on what needs to be done at the hospitals ? with the focus being on better facilities for the mentally ill, more parking, and renovating St. Brendan?s Hospital and King Edward VI Memorial Hospital.

Colin Campbell, executive officer of architects OBM, along with Ronald McIntyre and William Smeltz of hospital design firm Cannon Design, facilitated the meeting.

The three men, who are working together on an estate master plan for KEMH and St. Brendan?s Hospital, asked the audience for their input.

The group has been working on the plan for about six months and hopes to have a blueprint for both hospitals completed by May 2005.

Comparisons with hospitals in Canada, US, and UK are being carried out to gather ideas.

One audience member asked how the comparisons will be done.

Mr. Smeltz said that they will be done with hospitals in similar communities and demographics to Bermuda.

Another audience member pointed out that seniors need better care and Mr. Smeltz said that would be something to look at when the comparisons take place.

The audience heard that the overall look of the hospital will be taken into consideration for improvement.

Mr. Smeltz pointed out that KEMH is an old building and his team will be looking at whether or not it would make financial sense to rebuild or just replace certain aspects that need improvement.

He questioned how urgent the things that need fixing where and said that he has found things that need immediate repair.

Mr. Smeltz added that parking at KEMH is very tight and it would be addressed.

He said that parking needs to be in the right place and that patients should have access.

The audience said that it may be beneficial to have a hospital or smaller medical facility in the eastern and western ends of the Island.

This will be addressed in the research for the plan as well, said Mr. Smeltz.

One member of the audience pointed out that Bermuda needs an adolescent psychiatric unit.

And Mr. McIntyre said that there was no unit to house prisoners with mental illness at St. Brendan?s. Currently, they are thrown into the general population at Westgate Correctional Facility.

In the past judges have struggled with sending mentally ill convicts or defendants to Westgate.

Mr. McIntyre said that this issue was brought up at initial meetings and will be addressed.