Objective:

To contrast the Spanish and English hospital legislation at the end of the 19th century through the hospital regulations published in Santiago de Compostela (1893) and in Glasgow (1894).

Methods:

This is a qualitative study in which hermeneutic and analytical interpretation of local historical texts methods have been used.

Results:

Hospital admission differed greatly. In spite of the different sanitary figures between both regulations studied, there were common functions and hierarchies among them, highlighting care tasks aimed at the patient hygiene, the making of beds and the administration of medicines.

Conclusions:

The regulations of the Great Hospital of Santiago and the Royal Infirmary of Glasgow present certain similarities as a consequence of the care as a universal value, but also differences among them due to the different hospital systems.