The National System of Health Evaluation of the Regulatory Entity (SINAS), whose second assessment for 2017 was published on Friday, is charged with assessing the overall quality of health care providers, in this case hospitals.

In the clinical area, of the 159 establishments covered 127 were classified as providing excellent care. Of these, 112 (70%) were given the topmost rating.

Of the units assessed, 87 are public, 47 are private and 26 are in the social sector.

In terms of Clinical Excellence, the system assesed units with in-patient services for several areas, including Angiology and Vascular Surgery, Cardiology (Acute Myocardial Infarction), Outpatient Surgery, Cardiac Surgery, Colon Surgery, Intensive Care, Cross-Sectional Care, Gynecology, Neurology, obstetrics (birth and prenatal care), orthopaedics and paediatrics.

In terms of Patient Safety and Safety Procedures, ERS gave 107 of a total of 159 hospitals the top rating.

As for Adequacy of Facilities and Comfort, the percentage of hospitals that met all quality parameters for the top rating decreased further in 2017, after a drop in quality the previous year.

Of the 159 hospitals, 111 received a top rating 2017, or 70%, which is the lowest comfort level since 2013.

In relation to User Satisfaction, which is limited to ascertaining whether hospitals regualalry assess user satisfaction, 86% of providers said they conducted satisfaction surveys.