Bahrain's BDF Hospital has been rated among the best in the world, scoring 81.3 per cent in an Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) report, said a senior official.

'This is a major achievement for any health institution and is a top accolade for Bahrain,' said hospital commander Major-General Professor Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa.

The hospital has been accredited by the ACHS until 2015.

A presentation ceremony at the hospital yesterday recognised various hospital departments and the media.

ACHS experts analysed more than 45 criteria dealing with healthcare standards, including 16 mandatory ones that hospitals must pass to receive accreditation.

'We achieved distinction in 13 out of the 16 mandatory ones - an achievement only attained by very few of the thousands of hospitals surveyed by the ACHS,' Major-General Shaikh Khalid said.

He said the hospital's high level of preparedness to respond to small and large-scale emergencies and disasters on national and regional levels came in for praise, among other things.

'This was illustrated during the unrest last year when the hospital was capable of providing services to the entire country at a time when Salmaniya Medical Complex was unable to,' he said. – TradeArabia News Service