It could be three years before Government breaks ground on a new hospital.

The first phase of the notorious Johns Hopkins Medicine International report on the Bermuda Hospitals Board was released in the House of Assembly yesterday and the Minister of Health said detailed planning was required before any construction took place.

This phase of the report did not contain details or designs of the new hospital but did recommend the new facility should be able to accommodate 124 acute-only care beds with additional "shell space" for around 30 beds, to allow for future growth.

It also recommended non-acute patients should be moved to other health care facilities and a new payment method should be implemented in order to make the new hospital cost effective and efficient.

Though only now released to the public the report has already received a lot of media attention due to leaked notes from the former Minister of Health, Michael Scott.

In the notes, which Mr. Scott said were "private" and not an accurate reflection of what happened in a secret meeting about health care on the Island, the former Minster stated: "Hopkins Report must be managed, it must be written so that it suits the Government and does not become a document that embarrasses GOB."

New Health Minister Nelson Bascome said it was always Government's intention to be open and added the second phase would be finished within weeks.

He said: "The long term goal of this Government is to build a new acute care hospital, to replace the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. In December 2006 the Government mandate was that the new facility must be built on the existing grounds of the KEMH.

"The new hospital project is BHB's and, indeed, Bermuda's largest and most long-term capital project."

"The second phase of this report should bring us to an exciting time of the project, where the drill down takes place and we begin to get a very clear idea on design and services.

"Throughout the coming fiscal year we will begin work on the detailed phase. With most new hospital projects, this phase takes two-and-half to three years.

"The reason it takes so long is that every detail needs to be correct before breaking ground. Making changes during construction will be extremely costly and cause major delays.

"However, as we move through the process, we will be able to share more and more information with the community."

The report was commissioned in 2006 to evaluate a previous Estate Master Plan (EMT).

Phase one would comprise of a "healthcare utilisation assessment and future demand projections with particular focus on optimising the economical sustainability and medical viability of acute clinical services."