Hospital chiefs are considering creating a private “Betty Ford-style” rehab clinic on the Island for celebrities and other wealthy patients.
The idea of an exclusive drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility is being looked at by a Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) committee set up to explore opportunities for medical tourism.
Committee chairman Michael Winfield told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “It’s one of many potential ideas. We think there is merit in a number of ideas. The stage we are at is examining possibilities and ideas and trying to match that with both expertise and facilities.
“[We are] asking ourselves the question: can we do it in a way that matches the hospital’s standards of excellence and, as that progresses, what partnerships are needed?”
Mr Winfield, who is also chairman of BHB’s governance committee and owner of Cambridge Beaches, said the medical tourism committee was set up under the direction of the Health Minister and the Business Development and Tourism Minister and had been in existence for several months.
Its aim, he explained, was to identify opportunities for generating revenue, particularly in terms of capitalising on the new $247 million hospital, which is due to open in 2014.
Other committee members include BHB’s chief of staff Dr Donald Thomas and Reefs owner David Dodwell, as well as several other hoteliers.
Before she became Premier, Paula Cox told this newspaper that medical tourism could boost the Island’s economy.
She suggested patients from North America would fly to Bermuda for treatment or recovery in the same way they travel to Europe to avoid long waiting lists or high costs.
King Edward VII Memorial began offering a prostate cancer treatment unavailable in the US called High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in 2010, bringing hundreds of so-called “medical tourists” here.
Mr Winfield said “certain specialists” were also offering cosmetic and weight-loss procedures at the hospital to patients from abroad in partnership with BHB. “I think we do quite well,” he said.
He added that BHB subsidiary Healthcare Partners Limited (HPL) was offering “concierge services” for people coming in and out of Bermuda for medical treatment.
In February last year, BHB said it was “actively exploring integrating medical tourism opportunities with our current patient services”.
Mr Winfield said it was too early to talk about the specifics of the rehab clinic idea or speculate on how much money it could generate.
But an overseas consultant who visited the Island in March to discuss the initiative with the medical tourism committee told this newspaper he estimated it could bring in $10 million in the first year.
David Green, of IHI Consulting International in Ontario, flew to the Island at BHB’s expense to give a presentation, but now alleges he’s been “frozen out” of the project.
Mr Green, who claims he had a verbal agreement with Dr Thomas to launch the clinic and is still owed money from BHB in consultancy fees, sent a 14-page proposal to the chief of staff in February which suggests “platforming Bermuda as a viable surgical tourism destination, promoted on the international stage”.
It refers to consideration of a “specialist rehabilitation/addiction treatment facility” which would be run in partnership with a “local Bermuda tourism board, BHB and a local resort complex to site/host the treatments for overseas-originated patients and cater for trailing vacationing dependents”.
Mr Green said his role would have involved promoting the “Betty Ford-style” clinic to overseas patients, using his contacts in the health sector and beyond, including organisations such as the US-based Screen and Actors’ Guild.
Asked about the clinic idea, a BHB spokeswoman said in an e-mail that the board followed a “strict business process” when considering expansion and “an appropriate level of due diligence is involved to develop a full business case for board approval”.
She added: “Currently there are no strategic initiatives approved to proceed to a full business case development.”
In reference to Mr Green, another BHB spokeswoman said: “Mr Green is demanding payment for work which is not substantiated by any signed contract, nor written request that BHB is aware of.
“BHB has a strict procurement policy in place specifically to ensure a robust and fair tendering and contractual process.
“For any payment to be made by BHB to a vendor or consultant, an invoice has to be submitted with a description of activities undertaken against previously agreed and contracted work.
“This ensures an audit trail, required as part of our fiscal responsibility, and clearly protects BHB against fraudulent claims.
“Mr Green has informed BHB this matter is in the hands of his lawyer and, as such, this is now part of a legal process, so we cannot comment further.”
This newspaper requested an interview with Dr Thomas yesterday but did not receive a response.
Useful website: www.bhb.bm.
source: http://www.RoyalGazette.com / by Sam Strangeways / June 06th, 2012
