Illa: "The great lesson of this health crisis is that the entire national health system must be strengthened"

With the coronavirus epidemic curve on the rise in Spain and half of Europe already immersed in the second wave of the pandemic, the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, has warned that the situation in the country "is very worrying."

In the framework of the forum

, organized by EL PAÍS and Roche Farma, the minister has warned: “The ECDC [European Center for Disease Prevention and Control] places the threshold at 60 cases per 100,000 to start taking measures and in 250 to take drastic measures.

In Spain we are above, therefore, we must act ”.

Illa has also advocated for the need to strengthen Spanish health.

"The great lesson of this health crisis is that the entire national health system must be strengthened."

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According to the latest epidemiological report from the Ministry of Health, Spain has a cumulative 14-day incidence of 273 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, although communities such as Madrid (710) or Navarra (673) almost triple the Spanish average.

There are, in addition, 10,696 people admitted to hospitals due to covid-19 and 1,544 hospitalized in intensive care.

“We are in a very unstable situation.

Things are going well today and tomorrow they are going bad.

We are all helping each other internationally, we are all sharing experiences.

We cannot be trusted.

The one you let your guard down, that triggers you.

There is no need to make hasty diagnoses ”, pointed out the minister.

Despite the disagreement between the central government and the Community of Madrid over the management of the pandemic in this autonomy - contrary to the criteria of Health, the regional Executive refused to apply the perimeter closure to the entire capital - Illa wanted to calm the waters and has indicated that the understanding between the ministry and the autonomous communities, where the bulk of the powers in sanitary matters are transferred, has been high.

“The situation we live in is complex and very new.

It is true that there is some disagreement with political leaders, but in general, at least in the field of health, there has been a very broad understanding ”, he indicated.

In fact, Illa has refused to make profound modifications in the distribution of powers in the national health system.

“The institutional framework has worked reasonably well.

When decisions had to be centralized, it was done with the state of alarm.

Health is transferred, this offers a very important proximity component.

What it obviously requires is coordination.

It is having it and also at the European level ”, he added.

The minister has assured that "the national health system must be strengthened", especially with regard to the coordination mechanisms between the different actors in the Spanish health sector.

“We must reinforce the professionals who serve the national health system, both in terms of working conditions and the number, infrastructure and the field of public health.

In the system itself there is not the centrality that [public health] has and it must be reinforced in terms of human resources, technology and coordination structures, ”he indicated.

Information about the coronavirus

- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic

- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in Spain and in each autonomy

- Download the tracking application for Spain

- Search engine: The new normal by municipalities

- Guide to action against the disease