Cyprus healthcare expenditure rises to 6.4% of GDP

Healthcare expenditure in Cyprus has risen from 5.6% of GDP in 1998 to 6.4% in 2005, according to “Health and Hospital Statistics” report produced by the Statistical Service on Thursday.

This is still lower than the EU25 average, however, where according to Eurostat data for 2003, average spending on healthcare in the EU25 was 7.6%.

The private sector accounted for just over half (54%) of all expenditure, amounting to CYP 271.7 mln, while the public sector accounted for CYP 228.8 mln, bringing the total estimated by CYSTAT to CYP 500.5 mln.

 

Surgery up by 22% in one year

 

One of the main developments which were recorded in 2005 compared to 2004 were that surgical operations performed on in-patients recorded an increase of 21.6% over the previous year and reached 24,063.

The data also show that 57,887 patients were admitted for treatment and discharged from the general hospitals, during 2005 compared with 57,436 in 2004, recording an increase of 0.8%.

Operations on the digestive system accounted for 21.9% of all operations performed on in-patients, operations on the musculoskeletal system 14.4%, on genital organs of females 12.8%, on eyes 11.9% and operations of nose, mouth and pharynx 8.7%.

The disease category, “Injury, poisonings and certain other consequences of external causes” has the highest share 14.0% of in-patients, followed by diseases of the circulatory system with 10.8%, the digestive system with 9.8% and the respiratory system with 9.6%.

Out-patient attendances increased by 3.8% over the previous year, reaching 1,540,147, of which 66.3% represented attendances at general hospitals.

During 2005 a total of 353,993 patients visited the Casualty Departments of the general hospitals, recording an increase of 1.6% over the previous year.

The full report, which provides statistical information relating to the medical services of the public sector, can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Statistical Service under the section Publications (Category: Annual Publications, Theme: Population & Social Condition, Subtheme: Social Conditions).

The paper publication will later be available from the Government Printing Office in Nicosia at the price of CYP 8.00.