likely to be asked to help pay for treatment.

It would send tumbling the ideal of free treatment for all.

But doctors stress those particularly strapped for cash would not be asked to contribute.

And in another economy move the 181-strong staff face job cuts.

A jobs freeze -- with contracts of some workers not being renewed -- has already hit hard.

The cost trimming comes amid the disarray of plans to settle more patients in the community.

It was hoped Bermuda over the next few years would catch up with Scandinavian countries.

But one new proposal has been put in the pipeline -- a special club for discharged patients, many of whom wander Bermuda's streets.

The developments at St. Brendan's were revealed yesterday by Dr. Richard Lament, chief of psychiatry at the hospital.

They come as Mental Illness Awareness Week -- with its theme "bridging the gap'' -- ends.

The events, aimed at boosting awareness of mental illness, will include a fun fair at the hospital at 6 p.m. tonight.

Dr. Lament, trained in Britain, Canada, and the United States, said Bermuda had made big strides in mental health care over the last 25 years.

The 180-bed hospital, parts of which date back to the 19th century, had developed "enormously''.

Recent improvements included a new wing for the mentally handicapped.

"A lot still needs to be done, however. The old parts of the hospital leave a lot to be desired,'' said Dr. Lament, who is nearing the end of a three-year contract.

Dr. Lament said many myths about the mentally ill, based on ignorance, still needed to be dispelled.

There remained a stigma attached to the sick, which patients and their relatives found difficult to deal with.

And the problem of NIMBYISM -- the "not in my back yard'' syndrome -- still needed to be tackled during resettlement of patients.

"Because a lot of people who are mentally ill behave in odd and strange ways, it leads to fear of them and the illness,'' he said.

"We need to tackle the stigma through a multi-pronged approach, including the dissemination of accurate information, and the provision of effective and humane modern treatment, which relatives and patients can understand.

"Our best advocates in the end are the patients themselves.'' Dr. Lament said he believed there was a growing recognition of the problems of mental illness. And he praised Government's commitment to helping the sick.

But he said Bermuda lagged behind Scandinavia and Holland, particularly in rehousing patients to "residential facilities''.

"Bermuda has a specific problem, because space is at such a premium. Housing is also so expensive. But we don't think the problems are insurmountable.'' Some patients have been moved to rented accommodation in Fenton Drive, Hamilton, and Southampton.

And there was also a cottage in the hospital grounds which provided a stepping stone to the community, said Dr. Lament.

"Patients live fairly independent lives, and some have part-time jobs. Others work in a sheltered workshop. We do provide intensive follow-up care.'' Nevertheless, the process of resettlement needed to be carried out on a much greater scale but this had been disrupted by the recession.

"We had set ourselves a goal, but our plans have been thrown into disarray,'' said Dr. Lament.

"Ideally over the next five to ten years I would like to see a scattering of small home-like facilities across the Island.''