Life expectancy in Shanghai continued to rise last year, while local residents paid less for medical treatment, the Shanghai Health Bureau announced yesterday.

The city's health authority issued a report yesterday stating that the average lifespan of local residents increased to 80.97 years in 2006, eight months longer than in 2005.

The report didn't break down the number by gender, however.

Fewer women died during pregnancy or childbirth last year. The mortality rate for mothers during childbirth was reduced to 8.31 for every 100,000 pregnancies from 10.79 the year before.

However, the infant mortality rate rose slightly from 3.78 to 4.01 per thousand last year.

The city's hospitals received a record high 110 million outpatients and emergency patients last year, a 10 percent increase over 2005.

Meanwhile, residents paid less for medical treatment last year, with the average expense per person cut by 2.95 percent to 200.37 yuan (US$25.85) at district-level hospitals.

At community clinics, each patient paid 116.18 yuan on average, down 4.47 percent from the previous year.

More than 94 percent of patients were satisfied with their treatment last year, according to the report.

(Shanghai Daily February 26, 2007)