HOSPITAL rankings are a good guide for Bermuda patients being referred overseas, but no one should panic if they are not referred to a hospital whose name is on the list.

This is the reaction to the publication of US News & World Report's annual "honour roll" of American hospitals.

"We have a very strong relationship with a number of hospitals on this list. I think we make possibly 50 per cent of our adult referrals to Johns Hopkins (rated number one)," said King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Chief of Staff Dr. June Hill.

"But you have to remember that this is an American listing, which does not include many excellent hospitals world-wide, for example Canada and the UK."

She added that overseas hospitals offered more than just a referrals service; some hospitals offered considerable support to KEMH on the island, with advice and ongoing medical training.

She praised Brigham and Women's Hospital for its long-standing support of the Dialysis Unit, a relationship which includes staff training and education in Bermuda itself, as well as kidney transplants performed in Boston.

"We do try to find the best possible centres to send people," she said. "People going to hospitals on this list should be reassured, but it's needlesss to worry if your hospital isn't there."

The "honour roll" and information about different medical specialties may be found in the current issue of US News & World Report, online at www.usnews.com.