Sánchez presents a Plan for the implementation of proton therapy that will place us at the forefront of Europe in this type of cancer treatment

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The agreement, signed with the Amancio Ortega Gaona Foundation, was signed by the Minister for Health, Carolina Darias; by the first vice-president of the Amancio Ortega Gaona Foundation, Flora Pérez Marcote, and by the representatives of the autonomous communities where these new infrastructures will be installed: Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia, Valencia, Madrid and the Canary Islands.

During his speech, Sánchez affirmed that this project "is a commitment to the future that will put Spain on the same level as Germany in the use of proton therapy", a treatment on the rise which, until now, was only offered in two private centres in the Community of Madrid. In short, "a giant step forward, which places us at the forefront, along with other major nations, in this type of treatment," he said.

In his opinion, the agreement signed today will make it possible to "respond to the present and future needs of the Spanish population and, at the same time, facilitate clinical research and technological development related to this type of treatment".

It is also an example, he added, of "how the reinforcement of the Welfare State is an objective shared by the whole of society, which requires the participation of the different social agents, both public and private, in order to develop its full potential".

"No contribution, in this sense, is small", as the pandemic has made clear to us, he added, and therefore "it is essential to understand this project as a national project, capable of mobilising the greatest amount of public and private resources with a common, honest objective: to provide us all with a robust public health system, which is the flag of a prosperous and just society".

Compared to traditional radiotherapy, proton therapy significantly reduces unnecessary treatments to healthy tissue, which is especially beneficial when treating childhood cancer. It is also an effective alternative for tumours where conventional radiotherapy is not effective and surgery is not an option.

Moreover, it is a technology "with a very high cost," said the president, so this agreement allows us to "mobilise the necessary resources to make it available to patients based on criteria of equity and accessibility". In this sense, Sánchez pointed out that "the costs involved in implementing this project are much lower than those involved in referring patients who need proton therapy treatment to private centres".

Collaboration between the NHS and the Amancio Ortega Foundation

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoThe Chief Executive recalled that the collaboration between the National Health System and the Amancio Ortega Gaona Foundation in the fight against cancer "goes back a long way", as all the Autonomous Communities have signed agreements with the Foundation for more than 300 million euros to incorporate around 450 diagnostic and treatment teams into the public health system.

In the case of the agreement on proton therapy, the Amancio Ortega Foundation undertakes to donate 280 million euros to the Ministry of Health for the purchase of 10 complete sets of this technology. The Ministry will purchase the equipment, advancing these 280 million euros from the General State Budget in four annual instalments, in order to be able to carry out the tendering process. The Amancio Ortega Foundation will pay the donation according to the payments that are made, until the total amount is reached. Therefore, "the final cost of the devices will be zero euros," Sánchez remarked. Once the equipment has been acquired, the Ministry will place it at the disposal of the Autonomous Communities involved in the project, which will be responsible for its installation, maintenance and management.

Commitment to public health

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoDuring his speech, Sánchez reiterated the Government's "firm commitment to a quality public health system, which is a basic pillar of the Welfare State and also of the economic recovery, which must be as fair as possible". For this reason, discounting the extraordinary investment in vaccines from the previous year, he stressed that the amount allocated to health policies in the General State Budget for 2022 has grown by 11%" with fundamental actions such as the development of the Strategic Framework for Primary and Community Care, the expansion of oral health services and the deployment of the new Mental Health Strategy.

In this endeavour, the Chief Executive pointed out that "it is crucial that Spain's public health centres are at the forefront of technology, because this is the way to guarantee that every woman and every man, every girl and every boy in our country can benefit from these advances regardless of their socio-economic situation". To this end, we are counting on the European Funds with which - Sánchez said - "we will invest 795 million euros in high-tech equipment between this year and next year".

Breast Cancer Day

Coinciding with the celebration of World Breast Cancer Day, Pedro Sánchez has pledged that the government will continue to "work tirelessly to improve cancer research and treatments". "Beyond the bracelets or the pink ribbons we are wearing today, we are significantly increasing investments in research and we will look for the most advanced technologies," he concluded.

Non official translation