The President of Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has disclosed this Tuesday the electoral program for the general elections of November 29, which includes, in the field of health, the commitment to promote a State pact for public healthcare, a plan to reduce waiting lists, and the addition of, at least, 4,500 additional doctors in Primary Care.
"This country has to honor the daily effort of millions of Spaniards. Every citizen has to have a government that stands by them throughout their lives (...) Whoever needs healthcare help must have public healthcare with doctors, healthcare professionals, and they will have it," Feijóo pointed out during the presentation of the document, whose central axis is the "national reconstruction".
The healthcare block of the program is structured around nine measures that begin with a "major" State pact for public healthcare, which the 'popular' party wants to agree with the autonomous communities to ensure the cohesion of the system and equality in access to benefits. Within this framework, an urgent plan is included to reduce waiting lists, and it is emphasized that healthcare will be one of the "pillars" of the future model for regional financing.
The text also provides for strengthening the staff of the National Health System (SNS), in coordination with the autonomous communities, and specifies that in Primary Care, at least 4,500 more doctors will be added. Along with this, an improvement in working conditions, in work-life balance, and in the salaries of professionals is announced, with the approval of a classification that recognizes their training, qualifications, and level of responsibility.
In this regard, the program indicates that the "singularity" of doctors will be taken into account, for which a separate negotiation forum will be enabled regarding their working conditions, without undermining the rights of the rest of the professional categories; in addition, it is proposed to shorten the length of on-call duties through "appropriate" human resources planning.
The proposals place specific emphasis on healthcare in Ceuta and Melilla, for which the PP foresees a strategic plan with specific, multi-year funding, an increase in staffing levels, economic and professional incentives, improvements in transfers to the Peninsula, reductions in waiting lists, strengthening of Primary Care and Emergency services, expansion of hospital services, and development of a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), new radiotherapy units and advanced technological equipment.
MENTAL HEALTH AND PALLIATIVE CARE
The 'popular' ones commit to moving forward a national mental health plan 2027-2037, endowed with funding, an increase in professionals, and improvements in prevention, early detection, and access to psychological and psychiatric care from Primary Care, with special attention to childhood and adolescence, the prevention of suicide and serious mental disorders.
Likewise, they propose an integral strategy against addictions, with a particular focus on the young population, and ensuring coordination between health, education and social services.
With the goal of ensuring a "dignified life until the end," the PP announces a national palliative care law, the strengthening of specialized teams, and the guarantee of pain treatment, pediatric palliative care, care at home, and psychological support, "always respecting the will of the patient."
The program also includes a joint strategy with the autonomous communities to ensure homogeneous preventive services across the territory and to strengthen vaccination, screenings, early diagnosis, healthy lifestyle habits, and active aging. In addition, it is planned to strengthen the State Public Health Agency in order to anticipate health risks and respond quickly.
FISCAL DEDUCTIONS AND PATIENTS
On the fiscal front, the PP proposes relief for families with cancer patients, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or other serious conditions, who could deduct in the IRPF the accredited expenses linked to treatment and care. Similarly, training will promote a law on a specific deduction for people with celiac disease.
The program includes maintaining the provision of CUME for childcare for children with cancer or other serious and prolonged illness and extending its validity beyond 26 years in the assumptions provided for, as well as extending the improvements in protection to public employees.
As for patients, the document aims to guarantee the participation of representative organizations in the design and evaluation of health policies, ensure equality in access to prevention, diagnosis, care, and innovative treatments throughout the country, and respect each patient’s right to decide about their health with information that is “clear and sufficient”.
LABOR PROTECTION AND PHARMACEUTICAL INNOVATION
On labor matters, the PP proposes increasing the protection of people with serious illnesses, especially cancer patients, both during and after treatments; combating discrimination on the grounds of illness; and promoting the adaptation of workplaces and a return that is compatible with the recovery process.
In the pharmaceutical field, training calls for the Spanish model and the network of community pharmacies and, in this context, proposes accelerating patients’ access to innovation through a model of Research, Development, Innovation and Access (I+D+i+A).
At the same time, it commits to speeding up the evaluation of new medicines and shortening the timelines for deciding on their funding and price, bringing them closer to those of the countries in the surrounding area of Spain. It also provides for the creation of a state innovation fund intended for rare diseases and advanced therapies.