The UK is undoubtedly home to some of the best hospitals in the world – hospitals whose staff have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to provide the best patient care. But how do major hospitals maintain their top-tier status amid a global pandemic that has turned the medical world upside down?

According to Newsweek, which compiled the Global Hospital Rankings, it’s all about consistency and communication. But how do London hospitals compare in rankings on the world stage?

None of the NHS hospitals feature in a list of the top 25 in the world, according to the ranking table released last week. The top locations were dominated by hospitals in the United States, with sites in Canada, Germany, France, Sweden and Israel also featuring in the top ten.

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Britain’s first entry into the world rankings came only in 41st place, with St Thomas’ Hospital in London. St. Thomas’ is one of five Guys and St. Thomas’s Trust hospitals. It has a variety of specialist departments, including cancer, cardiovascular, women and children, kidney care, and orthopedics.

Second in the UK was University College Hospital (54th), followed by St. Bartholomew’s Hospital (133rd). Looking at the top 10 hospitals in the UK, half were in the capital. Derriford Hospital in Plymouth came last, when the analysis was broken down into UK-only sites – but no NHS hospital scored below 69% in the rankings.

The best hospital in the world would be the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA. The best in Europe, in 5th place, was Charité – Universitätsmedizin in Berlin. The annual ranking of the best hospitals in the world, which has been running for four years, ranks 2,200 hospitals in 27 countries, including Brazil, India, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.

Each hospital analyzed is given a score from 0 to 100. Not all NHS hospitals were included in the snapshot. It is based on surveys of 80,000 medical experts and thousands of patients. Key performance indicators, such as wait times and the doctor-to-patient ratio, are also taken into account.

But Department of Health bosses said they were ‘proud of the excellent care provided’ by the NHS. A spokesperson said: “We are proud of the excellent care provided, free at the point of use, in hospitals across the country, and continue to work hard to ensure the best care is there for people when they need it. Our record investment in NHS hospitals and other health services includes an additional £2 billion this year and £8 billion over the next three years.”

Newsweek says the scores are only comparable between hospitals in the same country because they’re based on the same performance measures. It comes as a new hospital aimed at reducing patient waiting times and reducing the NHS backlog, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, is set to open.

The ‘planned care’ Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot, Berkshire, will be dedicated to non-urgent treatment and will prioritize those patients who have been waiting the longest.

Earlier this month, MPs heard that a record number of people were awaiting hospital treatment after being referred for specialist care by their GP – some 6.1million people in England alone.

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