Remarks by the President of the Government during his visit to the "Marqués de Valdecilla" University Hospital

Santander (Spain)

President of the autonomous region, Mr. Mayor, Councillor for Health, government delegate, friends, ladies and gentlemen representing the media at this event,

With your permission, let me begin by expressing my sincerest condolences, as I have done in person a few minutes ago, to the brother, family and loved ones of Moustafa Kebe, who as you know, died here on the building project at Valdecilla last Friday; and to all his co-workers. Valdecilla, as in all public works, is a joint effort and every one contributes his or her own part. The person who died here will always remain as someone who has contributed to the construction process and in ensuring that the work on Valdecilla was successfully completed. So I express my sincerest condolences.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is always a pleasure to return to Cantabria; and it is an even greater pleasure to return to witness a commitment that has been met. The part that still remains pending will obviously have to be met in the future and will therefore be completed by this Government.

As you all know better than I do, if you talk about healthcare in Cantabria you inevitably have to talk about this great institution, the Hospital of Valdecilla, with its deep roots, history and, above all, future. It is a model for our National Health System in terms of the healthcare provided, but also in terms of teaching and applied research. On its own merit, Valdecilla has become a flagship for healthcare in Spain; so much so that a few weeks ago its Research Institute IDIVAL was awarded the demanding certification granted only to the very best, by the Carlos III Institute of Health IDIVAL. In this respect I do not want to miss the opportunity offered me to congratulate all the people of Cantabria for this recognition.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I know how important Valdecilla is for the people of Cantabria. I say this because I think I know Cantabria quite well. I have travelled around this region often and anyone who has spent enough time here knows for certain that for Cantabrians, Valdecilla is much more than a great hospital. Valdecilla is pride, tradition and, in a way, a hallmark of Santander and Cantabria. It is a Cantabrian hospital for all the people of Spain.

As you know, and as Ignacio Diego recalled in his speech, on Friday the Council of Ministers approved the agreement that embodies the Government's funding commitment to Valdecilla for 2015. With this disbursement, indeed, the Government will have committed a total of 57 million euros and let no one have the slightest doubt - because things always have to be made clear, that we will continue along these lines. Valdecilla stands as a reference, it has been treated as such and we will continue to treat it as such in the future.

Allow me to mention and highlight something that I think is important. The President of the Autonomous Region of Cantabria, Ignacio Diego, has managed to get all of us involved in the funding of Valdecilla and has made a great effort to convince us at what is one of the times of greatest economic hardship in budget history, not only for the Government of Spain, but in general for all the institutions of our country. This has been the main priority in the matter of health during this term of office, but I think it is an act of justice and, above all, an act of wisdom, common sense and effectiveness with respect to the future. But he has had much to do with the decisions that we have adopted as a result of his determination, his drive and his ability to present arguments very well, to convince those who had to take the decision.

I think things have been done successfully. I believe we should thank and congratulate everyone responsible for the project that has been carried out and, as has been said, and I repeat, may no one have the slightest doubt that the works at Valdecilla will be completed in May.

I would also like to pass on my thanks to the whole society of Cantabria, which has supported and defended this project more than anyone; and also all the staff at the hospital, a team of men and women who have pushed themselves beyond their mere obligation, and whose feeling of responsibility always matches their personal commitment and their professional capacity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The planned date for completion of the project, May 15, is not an end; is the starting point, the best starting point for a hospital called on to play a leading role in the present and the future of Spanish society.

And let me finish these words with a brief comment of a general nature about something that I think is very important for the whole of Spanish society, because it is something that affects the very lives of people and, at the end of the day, that is what it is all about: all this talk about the Welfare State, the public pension system, the public health system, education, unemployment insurance ... everything that helps to make people's lives a little more pleasant, if indeed possible.

We have gone through a period of enormous difficulty in our country. We have asked for a great deal of effort from all the people of Spain and we have had to reduce spending at all levels of government, all of them: the local authorities - the Mayor of Santander was talking to me about it just now - the government of Cantabria, all the regional governments and the government of the nation. This was because in just two years seventy billion euros of revenue were lost in Spain, in two years, 2008 and 2009, and because it was extremely difficult to obtain funds from the markets at the time; and that is because the Spanish deficit, what we had to ask for every year to maintain our level of spending, was ninety billion euros, a positively astronomic figure.

Well, in a situation of extreme difficulty I have to thank the Spanish people who have understood the decisions that all governments have had to make; all of them, regardless of their political colour.

But I would like to highlight one thing: in these difficult times we have managed to preserve what is most important, those which form the basic pillars of the Spanish welfare system, and I mean the public pensions, public health, education and all the social services. That is something we must continue to preserve in the future, because not all countries in the world can count on this, but fortunately we can as Europeans.

To preserve it, what are needed are economic growth, economic activity and job creation. That is why for the last three years I have been saying, and I will continue to do so in the future, that the main priority during this term of office and the next can only be job creation. Creating jobs is good for people who work, because they can plan a life for themselves, they can be content and secure in themselves; but it is good for people as a whole, because it means more activity, more income for all the public administrations, more contributions to the Social Security system to maintain and improve pensions, and above all, better welfare and greater level of wealth.

So when we talk about health, education, pensions and all the major public services provided by government to its citizens, we all agree; all of us. There is no one who doesn't want this and doesn't want it to be better in the future, nobody. You won't find anyone who is against it, against the system that we have in Spain.

The problem is how to achieve it, how to maintain it and how to preserve it. That is a question of effective and smart economic policies; of thinking not only of tomorrow, but realising that in life to act thinking in the medium and long term is, in the end, what is more profitable not only for the future, but also for the present of our country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

And now I conclude. For me it's an honour to be in Cantabria, and it is a twin honour to be here and see how some decisions that are made end up affecting the general welfare of all the people. I am very honoured and I hope Valdecilla remains what it is today for many more years: a model medical centre for the whole of Spain.

Thank you.