Health and hospital statistics for 2003 published

?ospitals in Cyprus treated more patients in 2003 than in the year before, more surgical operations were performed, out-patients attendances increased and so did casualty patients.

According to statistics, published here today, 56,850 patients were admitted for treatment and discharged from the general hospitals in 2003 compared with 55,142 the year before, recording a 3.1% increase.

Surgical operations performed on in-patients recorded an increase of 1.5% over the previous year and reached 20,459.

Out-patient attendances increased by 5.9% over the previous year, reaching 1,373,317, with 31.6% attendances at rural hospitals and health centres.

The casualty department received a total of 344,163 patients, recording an increase of 6.6%.

Available data indicates that expectation of life at birth for the period 2002-2003 was 77 years for men and 81.4 years for women.