The Amancio Ortega Foundation has donated a total of 280 million euros to the Ministry of Health for the Purchase of Ten Protonenterapy Teams, one of the most advanced techniques for the treatment of cancer because it is particularly effective with tumors of difficult access or localization In sensitive places, thus shortening the times and avoiding much of the side effects of other techniques. However, the start-up of the machines is quite more complex than tightening a power button, to the point that the bureaucratic obstacles still have blocked other similar donations that the foundation did in the past.
This means that the different administrations will also have to put on your part so that it is a reality the operation of the new equipment, which require investment for its installation or for the hiring and training of the staff that will use them. The Hospital La Fa de Valencia will be one of the centers made with a protontency team, even though the administrative bureaucracy keeps paralyzed in another hospital in the city one of the teams donated in their day by the Owner of Inditex.
The one now, therefore, is not the first millionaire donation that the entrepreneur for public health performs. The current agreement with the Ministry establishes that it will be the foundation that runs with the cost of the acquisition of the teams (Iran to Vizcaya, Barcelona, La Coruña, Seville, Málaga, Madrid, Gran Canaria and Valencia), the software, the team of dosimetry, the camera team and the training service of the clinical hospital.
In the case of the team that will emphasize in the faith of Valencia, the Health Consellery that Ana Barceló will address will have to cover its installation and start-up, contribute human resources, take care of the training plan for the use of the team, pay its maintenance and assume patients from other communities without access to this technology, which today is only available in Spain through private health. Specifically, the only two protonten teams that exist in the country are in Madrid and are owned by QuironSalud and the University of Navarra clinic.
The paradox is that the Valencia Clinical Hospital currently continues to work with a Gamma Knife radiosurgery machine valued at 3.5 million euros, according to sources of the Health Department itself, who expect it to be activated. Last May the alarms jumped when it was learned that the request for the License of Works "was passed over" in the City Council of Valencia, as then justified the delay municipal sources. That is to say, that the hospital was waiting for more than a year waiting for the Consistory to led by Commitments and PSOE to process a license that allowed the necessary works to welcome the team donated by Amancio Ortega at its facilities. It had been announced in December 2019.
But it was not until last June when the license was finally granted and, in fact, the works are already finished, although the apparatus still does not work. Why? The reason is now the need to subject the team to a calibration. Sources of health explain to this diary that one of the two accelerators of the clinician is already operational, although the second "is installed at all and ending the process of previous measurements". These measurements are performed physically to guarantee the safety of the devices, so they are mandatory before putting the equipment as the law.
So, seen the precedent, healing does not give a specific date for the start-up of the new protontency team. On the part of the Conselleria stands out, that will "allow not only to improve the accessibility of patients to this therapy, both short and in the medium term", but also facilitated "clinical research and technological development related to this type of treatment ".
It should be borne into account that protonteration is a special radiotherapy modality that employs protons instead of x-rays, with which radiation is produced more locally, with a better dose distribution and lower surrounding healthy tissue irradiation. Therefore, this technology is especially indicated for patients with long survival and, especially, in children. It is used mostly in the treatment of eye, spinal tumors, skull base and some brain.
The Agreement between the Ministry of Health and the Amancio Ortega Foundation includes that the price of the acquisition of the teams will advance health from four years in the general budgets of the State (PGE), although the total cost for public coffers will be of "Zero euros" thanks to the donation.
Date Of Update: 20 October 2021, 21:08
