One in six 'emergency' cases result in hospital admission

The average length of hospital stays in the islands dropped by 0.72%, Menorca's 4.9 days being the second lowest, only bettered by the Hospital in Formentera. The occupancy rate for beds was 59.5%.

Mateu Orfila's five surgeries carried out a total of 4,834 operations, 929 of which were emergencies, an increase of 14.4%. The figure equates to 61.5 operations for every 1,000 inhabitants. The number of babies born in Menorca's new hospital rose by the same percentage; from 753 in 2007 to 862 last year. During the year some 124,397 patients had appointments with consultants, 3.2% more than the previous year.

In the Balearic Islands, the number of patients on the waiting list for operations in 2008 increased by 7.52%. Although nobody had to wait for more than 180 days, the average time on the list was 61.92 days, slightly above last year's figure of 60.83 days. The total number of operations carried out during the year showed a 4.72% increase on 2007, at 56,389, equating to 33 operations per 1,000 inhabitants.

Primary health care
Menorca's Medical Centres dealt with a total of 308,628 patients (4,183 on home visits), each G.P. averaging 32 appointments per day.
In the Paediatric section doctors saw 63,203 patients, averaging 24 per day. The island's nurses have played a vital support role with nearly 230,000 visits (11,500 of them to patients' homes).

With regard to the 061 emergency service, ambulances responded to 7,514 calls, and 258 patients were air-lifted from Menorca to Palma last year.