Finance Minister Grant Gibbons has been thrown into a political "conflict'' controversy -- because his wife is coordinating cost cuts for the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

Dr. Gibbons, who is calling on the Board to make vast savings, was accused of not declaring a conflict of interest by Shadow Health Minister Renee Webb last night.

And Ms Webb accused the Board of being overloaded with Government supporters, with four members who have close ties to the United Bermuda Party.

Around 20 nursing jobs are already scheduled to be cut at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after a review by Arthur Andersen Consulting.

But Dr. Gibbons' wife Kathryn, chairman of the Board's Strategic Planning Committee, sprang to the defence of her husband and her own position.

Mrs. Gibbons, the former executive officer of the UBP, said: "It's useful to look behind the rhetoric and get to the facts of the matter.

"In terms of a conflict of interest, the Board and the Government are on the same side and share the same concerns with regard to two key factors.

"They are, firstly, to contain continuing health care costs which are rapidly escalating and secondly, to improve the quality of care to our patients, particularly our elderly population.

"I don't see how the decisions that we make can be in conflict when our goals are basically the same in those two areas.'' The hospital has been forced to look at savings after 1997 figures revealed $74 million was coming in but $47 million was being spent on staff salaries alone.

Ms Webb said the 13-member Hospitals Board considering the cuts included four UBP allies.

She named Mrs. Gibbons; Jane Spurling, the wife of Government Whip Rick Spurling; former chairman of the UBP's Pembroke West branch Ken Spurling; and Geoffrey Moore, the chief financial officer of Colonial Insurance, part of the Gibbons group of companies.

The Shadow Minister also called for detailed information on how many hospital jobs were being lined up for the axe -- and what other cuts were in the offing.

She added: "Talk about a conflict of interest -- and that's one which hasn't been declared by Dr. Gibbons.

"It's been brought up on the floor of the House but it was shot down and never reported.

"The Board is meant to be quasi-independent and gets its funding from Government. But how can it be in any way independent if four of them are in bed with the UBP? "It compromises the position of the Board, for sure. Government shouldn't be putting itself in that position. It must be seen to be fair instead of being blatant with the appointments.

"Either remove these people from the Board or change the Minister looking at the hospital's finances. Do one or the other.

"Quinton Edness, the Acting Minister of Health, is responsible for the hospital but its financial operation obviously comes under Finance.'' Mrs. Gibbons added: "In a community like ours, which is small, it's extremely important to look for people who are capable and qualified, regardless of their political affiliation or who they are married to.

"We are also trying to appoint women to Boards and people around the world have found that capable men are often married to very capable women.

"It would be a shame for Renee Webb, who in the past has been very concerned about the rights of women in Bermuda, to ban people from serving on Boards who are capable and qualified -- just because of who they are married to.'' She said Mrs. Spurling had raised $4 million for the hospital in the past 18 months.

And Mrs. Gibbons, on the Board for more than four years, said her own background included more than ten years' work in the US healthcare industry.

"I have been involved in the Board's strategic review of healthcare that's taken place in the past 12 months,'' she said, adding that her husband was not invloved in commissioning the review.

"I worked very closely with Arthur Andersen and was chairperson of the planning group.

"The Ministry of Finance had representatives serving on the planning review but they were there primarily because of their interest in preserving healthcare costs.'' She said the Progressive Labour Party's Dr. Ewart Brown also served on the review's medical management team.

Dr. Gibbons echoed his wife's comments, adding: "This is more political rhetoric than anything else. It's a political smokescreen.'' Mr. Edness said the names of Board members were public and were gazetted every year.

And he said he had recently appointed Cheryl-Ann Lister, wife of PLP Senator Terry Lister, to the Board, although she no longer serves.

Ken Spurling, Rick Spurling and Geoffrey Moore all insisted to The Royal Gazette that personal associations would not affect any policy-making at Board level.

Ken Spurling said he was no longer a member of the UBP and Mr. Moore said he had never belonged to a political party.

Grant Gibbons Graphic file name: GIBBY HOSPITAL HOS