Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson has called on Government to come clean about the state of the Bermuda Hospitals Board after a slew of high-level resignations.

In late November Edwin Wilson replaced Anthony Richardson as hospital chairman but stepped down for health reasons in mid-February.

Of the new board appointed in January Deputy Chairman Patrick Tannock, has resigned because of work commitments while BTC CEO Francis Mussenden has also stepped down.

And it also emerged that Dr. Bert McPhee, whose name wrongly appeared in the Official Gazette as being appointed to Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) in January, is not on the board.

Last Thursday The Royal Gazette asked the hospital’s media department to say who the current chairman and deputy chairman now are but the inquiry was immediately referred to Government. Days later no response was forthcoming.

Mrs. Jackson said: “I am concerned about the frequency of changes on the hospitals board, particularly the chairman whose role is really important because at this time the estate plan should be at the design stage for the new hospital.”

She said it was vital there was no delay if the hospital was going to be replaced by the 2012 deadline by which time the current hospital will no longer be viable.

“We cannot get an answer on who the chairman is today which I find very frightening.”

And she said the Bermuda Health Council, which was set up in 2004 to regulate and co-ordinate the island’s health needs had been completely invisible on the issue.

Mrs. Jackson said months after it emerged that Kurron Shares was going to do an audit of the hospital, Government has yet to state how long the contract would last, how much is being paid and why the work was needed.

She said: “We have spent millions of dollars on studies and surveys.”

Mrs. Jackson said the money would have been better spent on replacing antiquated equipment as she revealed a bone scanning machine had been out of action since last summer. “It isn’t fair on the people of Bermuda. There is only one hospital.”

Yesterday a BHB spokeswoman said the bone scanning machine had this week been replaced with digital diagnostic equipment to scan for bone cancer.

The spokeswoman said: “We are now able to offer a faster and higher quality service in a modern, safe environment. While the renovations were undertaken, patients would have travelled overseas if they required this specific service.”