The Minister of Health, Mónica García, has insisted that acquired brain injury must be addressed from a "social perspective" and has highlighted the "huge steps" taken by her department in this legislature. Among them, she has mentioned the National Stroke Strategy, the Chronicity Strategy, the update of the rehabilitation services portfolio, and the coordinated actions with the Ministry of Social Rights.
"Health care support does not end when the medical act concludes. When you sign the discharge, our responsibility does not end, which goes beyond consultations and operating rooms," García emphasized during her participation in the event "Acquired Brain Injury: when the numbers represent lives," organized by Acquired Brain Injury State and held this Friday in the Congress of Deputies.
In her speech, the head of Health warned that, although the Spanish health system acts "with considerable speed" in the acute phase and has updated protocols for urgent interventions, significant deficits persist in the attention to chronicity and to the dependency situations associated with brain injury.
García admitted that the information about this disability is very fragmented, as there is no specific code and it can arise from multiple causes, such as trauma, a stroke, a tumor, or a cardiorespiratory arrest.
The minister considered it "almost incomprehensible" that, in the full data era, health information systems do not allow for the integration of the necessary records to accurately know the causes of acquired brain injury, the diagnoses, and, above all, the sequelae that the affected individuals carry.
"The health care of individuals does not end at the Ministry of Health. It starts at the Ministry of Health, but continues at the Ministry of Social Rights, at the Ministry of Housing, and in all ministries, as well as in all the social determinants that directly impact our families," she concluded.
A report reveals the magnitude of hospital discharges
During the event, the results of a report prepared by Andaira were presented, which places the hospital discharges linked to acquired brain injury registered in Spain in 2024 at 141,792. However, the document has not managed to establish the prevalence of this disability, that is, how many people currently live with acquired brain injury in the country.
"The report allows for the availability of incidence data to understand the current situation, but it has not been possible to determine the prevalence of acquired brain injury in Spain, as there are not sufficiently reliable data in the available databases," explained the president of Daño Cerebral Estatal, Ana Cabellos.
Of those 141,792 hospital discharges related to acquired brain injury in 2024, the majority are due to cerebrovascular diseases, with 100,852 discharges, 71 percent of the total. Traumatic brain injuries constitute the second most common cause, with 26,726 discharges, accounting for 19 percent.
Regarding the profile of affected individuals, 71 percent of the discharges correspond to those over 65 years old, with an average age of 71.2 years. In relation to sex, men represent 55 percent of the hospital discharges associated with acquired brain injury, compared to 45 percent of women.
They demand a specific code for acquired brain injury
Cabellos emphasized the urgency of having rigorous data that allows for understanding how many people live with acquired brain injury in Spain and what their main characteristics are: sequelae, age, and sex.
In her opinion, having this information would facilitate dimensioning "much better" the necessary resources and following the evolution of the needs of people with disabilities. "It will allow us to know what resources and professional programs we need at this moment and, in addition, to foresee what will be necessary in the future," she pointed out.
The president of Daño Cerebral Estatal has advocated for moving towards a specific recognition of acquired brain injury from the moment of hospital discharge. "But we need to take a step further, starting by giving a name, a label after hospital discharge that indicates 'acquired brain injury' and continuing with a unified action protocol throughout the lives of these individuals, to ensure that a life saved is worth living," she concluded.