The progress of social and healthcare integration in Catalonia, "atypical" in the State
The law establishing the agency that will coordinate both services is due to be approved next Thursday in Parliament.
BarcelonaIn Catalonia, the progress in social and healthcare integration is "undeniable and atypical," while other autonomous communities still have "a long way to go," admitted the Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla, on Wednesday during a visit to Barcelona to participate in the 10th International Congress on Dependency and Quality of Life. Meanwhile, the Secretary of State for Social Rights, María Rosa Martínez, emphasized that for the first time in Spain there is an autonomous "consensus" to promote the coordination of social and healthcare services, despite the fact that there is only one national health system and seventeen social services systems, and that "the different budgetary resources of each one present a challenge." The 10th International Congress on Dependency and Quality of Life – organized by the Edad&Vida Foundation – brought together 600 professionals between November 11th and 12th in one of the leading international forums for the aging and dependency sector. Participants reflected on the issue, proposed accessible measures, and discussed the topic. One of the highlights was the roundtable discussion on social and healthcare integration with the two Secretaries of State and the President of the Congress, Josep Maria Via, who emphasized the crucial role of the State in the legislative and economic spheres, despite the model of devolved powers. The event was moderated by the former Minister of Social Rights and President of the Parliament's Health Committee, Carles Campuzano, who noted that the plenary session will approve the draft law for the Catalan Agency for Integrated Social and Healthcare Care next Thursday. "Why has it taken so long to get here?" he asked. For Vía, this is because "the individual is a single entity, and the system is highly fragmented: we need a policy that minimizes the difficulties of having two interlocutors." If the law is passed, she said, it will be great news. per se"Ideally, it would be fully unified and under a single political command, with its own director and budget," he said.
Lack of budgets
Martínez noted that the long-term care system will soon be 20 years old and has 1.5 million beneficiaries, but also admitted that it only covers 30% of users' needs. Padilla argued that the healthcare system must not be allowed to "devour" the social services system. In fact, the lack of funding was addressed as one of the immediate challenges for the future, in order to resolve the staffing shortages in nursing homes, the waiting lists for benefits or placements, and the modernization of infrastructure. "We can have a very good model, but it needs resources," Martínez admitted, although she maintained that the government made a record investment in 2024 (€3.4 billion) and released €500 million for [unclear - possibly "funds"]. the ELA law and has acquired "the commitment", although not the obligation, that the administrations involved in dependency finance the system at 50 percent.
