September 11, 2025 - It usually starts with an infection – and all too often ends in death: Sepsis, commonly known as “blood poisoning”, claims around 4,000 lives in Swiss hospitals every year. This makes it one of the most common causes of death.
more...On World Sepsis Day, September 13, the Federal Office of Public Health and the Swiss Federal Quality Commission (EQK) are putting the disease in the spotlight. A new report shows: More than 20,000 patients are diagnosed with sepsis each year in Swiss acute care hospitals.
Striking are the differences between hospitals. While on average almost one in five patients with sepsis dies, some hospitals manage to reduce mortality significantly. A prime example: the Spitalregion Oberaargau (SRO) in Langenthal, which treated 364 sepsis cases – even more than Zurich University Hospital – but recorded a mortality rate of only 9.6%. The top performer is the smaller Clinique des Grangettes near Geneva with just 2.9%.
Sepsis starts with infections – some of which originate in hospitals themselves. To see how individual hospitals perform, visit our overview: Infection rates in Swiss hospitals.
Conclusion: Sepsis is a medical emergency where immediate and high-quality treatment is crucial. The choice of hospital can make the difference between life and death.
| How to use the Hospital Comparison Switzerland? |
|
|---|
Type in the city of residence or interest (zip or name) or search for an intervention or disease. You can look for a hospital as well. Type a few letters or digits and opt to click on the appropriate text from the selected list. Submit your search by on the button with the magnifying glass symbol ().
Immediate access to your personalized list of the best Swiss hospitals / clinics
If we find a personal ranking list of suitable clinics for you, there will be ratings of up to 5 stars (and a corresponding performance number from 0-5). You'll find the best hospital on top on rank 1. A click on the blue name opens a site with detailed information about the hospital.
Change and combine
Change the selection criteria according to your needs. Make your choice in the grey shaded box on the left hand side. Data is available on: distance to city of residence or certain place in Switzerland, number of treated patients, infection rates, mortality rates, patient satisfaction and number of staff per patient etc. . You can choose whether a parameter is unimportant, important or very important to you.
You will receive more precise results by searching under «by disease / intervention» on the next page. Click on the white section (... click here for selection), then choose what you are interested in. (e.g. heart). Try different combinations and you will learn most about the quality you are interested in.
Easy and faster? Use the links to our ready-made ranking lists to frequently searched topics (). You can adjust them later.
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
Have you or your family member recently been treated as an inpatient? Please help fellow patients by providing your experience with the clinic in an anonymized form. It’s very simple and takes less than 2 minutes. Thank you very much!
The non-profit and independent group «Verein Spitalvergleich Schweiz» needs your help. Support our efforts for the most comprehensive and neutral lists of the best hospitals in Switzerland with your donation.