Briefing
The Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander has received three awards at the Spanish Best in Class awards. The competition named it the best hospital for highly complex care, and recognised its oncology department and its unit for pulmonary hypertension .
Cantabria’s regional president María José Sáenz de Buruaga presented the hospital award on 11 November at the ceremony at the Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander. According to the Cantabrian Health Service, Valdecilla won the award for high-complexity hospitals for the second time, following its previous win in 2024.
The hospital had reached the final in 13 categories in the competition’s 21st edition. In addition to the nomination for the hospital as a whole, 12 nominations covered individual specialties and specialised units. These included dermatology, neurology and emergency care, as well as the three areas that have now received awards, including the hospital as a whole.
The awards are organised by the specialist publication Gaceta Médica and a chair in health management and innovation at Rey Juan Carlos University They recognise achievements in individual categories; the award for Valdecilla is not an official ranking of all Spanish hospitals. Nor can the three awards be taken to mean that the hospital is a leader in every medical discipline.
According to Gaceta Médica, a total of 33 awards were presented at the event. In the categories for services, units and centres, 522 entries from 85 hospitals were received. Before the ceremony, Valdecilla shared the highest number of finalist places with Fundación Jiménez Díaz.
Institutions outside Cantabria also received awards. The award for a medium-complexity hospital went to Hospital Universitario Infanta Elena. The event brought together healthcare representatives from several Spanish regions in Santander.
Valdecilla’s oncology department had already received an award in the competition in 2025. Its pulmonary hypertension unit received an honourable mention that year. This year’s awards therefore cover both the hospital as a whole and two of its specialised care areas.
Editor: Clara Simonichek (Article created with AI assistance).