A dispute between doctors and insurance companies over a new schedule for fees for hospital procedures dominated the health sector in 2002.

The two sides were deadlocked for months over the new schedule which could have seen patients being forced to pay up front for treatment. In August, Government announced the end of the row, but in October, an 11th hour injunction was filed by insurers to block doctors from directly billing patients for operations.

A settlement may be in sight after Parliament passed an amendment granting Health Minister Nelson Bascome the power to step into the row and set a fee schedule for both parties.

Better news for health came when it was announced that Bermuda is emerging as a leading international research centre within a massive international research study aimed at preventing diabetes, according to Diabetes Centre coordinator Debbie Jones.

Tyrone Wilson was sent home with a cracked skull and blood clot in his head after emergency doctor failed to give him a CAT scan. His wife said she contemplated suing Bermuda Hospital Board.

Amid reports that a toddler who attended Adventure Land Nursery and Pre-School in Warwick has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, Bermuda's Chief Medical Officer advised parents not to panic. The two-year-old child has since recovered from the potentially-fatal illness.

Pesticides and fertilisers are the likely causes of dramatic increases in deformities in Bermuda's toads. Scientists worry that problems in amphibians world-wide could signal a serious health scare for humans.

Bermuda's drug rehabilitation groups seemingly lurched from one crises to another.

FOCUS closed, citing a lack of funds. An emergency meeting was held to discuss the organisation's future. The NDC steeped in to offer assistance. President of FOCUS, Rory Gorman, resigned after failing to get the support of his board to oust Sandy Butterfield as the executive director. Vice-president Wayne Jackson and other members also tendered their resignations.

A health insider calls NDC a waste of money. At one point, the $6 million Government quango only employed three administrative assistants. A permanent replacement for CEO Cristina Wineinger, who resigned after only months on the job, has yet to be hired.

And in the same year that the Alternatives to Incarceration programme was introduced, FOCUS-affiliated men's rehab service Camp Spirit became defunct and at the end of the year, it was announced that women's residential centre Fair Havens would not be accepting any new clients.

At the end of the year, the NDC announced that on January 6, 2003, Camp Spirit will begin operating again, this time year-round. But Rev. Betty Furbert-Woolridge, who runs a summer camp for church members, expressed surprise with the move because she said she thought the camp would not run in the summer months.

Taxi drivers employed by Islandwide Taxi Service were told by Canadian Life Assurance that as of May 1, there would be no coverage.