What You Can Do To Help Spain’s Health Care Professionals

A vital section of Spain’s health care professionals are seeking the help of the public, in order to boost the treatment and care of some of the most vulnerable ones in our society.

It is a little-known fact that Spain’s paediatric specialists, such as cardiologists, pulmonologists, oncologists, allergists and 23 other specialists, who care for millions of children and adolescents in Spain, are not officially recognized by the Spanish national health system.

The 12,000 paediatricians of the Spanish Association of Paediatrics (AEP) are fighting for the recognition of paediatric specialists, a vital step to ensure the quality of medical care for children and adolescents.

For years, the AEP has been battling for the official recognition of paediatric specialists, similar to what is seen in other countries. The situation reached a critical point recently, with the AEP’s public plea for support.  The public has been asked to give their collective weight by adding their names on Change.org.

Without formal recognition, the future of child healthcare is jeopardized. The AEP argues that this is the way to ‘safeguard the quality of health care for the child and adolescent population.’ They urge the public to sign and share the petition to ensure paediatric specialists receive the same recognition as adult medical specialists.

The fight for recognition is not just a professional matter; it’s a right that children and adolescents deserve. The 12,000 paediatricians of the AEP are committed to accrediting the quality of their specific training and professional competence. Without paediatric specialists, they warn, ‘the future of our children will be less healthy.’

Five Good Reasons To Sign The Petition

• ‘More than six million Spanish children and adolescents are attended by medical specialists who are not officially recognized. The autonomous governments offer paediatric specialities in health centres without formal recognition. Paediatric specialists deserve the same recognition as adult specialists. We urge the health administration to accredit the areas of specific paediatric training in order to guarantee the quality of specialist training and equitable health care throughout Spain.’

• ‘Primary care paediatrics provides fundamental services in child and adolescent health, in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and in the prevention and promotion of health. In adults, there is a speciality of family medicine, but there is no specific training pathway for primary care paediatricians. “We request a specific training itinerary for the primary care paediatrician within the MIR program in Paediatrics.’

• ‘The lack of Paediatricians in Primary Care is causing many deficiencies within Spain, with many specialists overstretched, with the risk that entails for the patient’s safety. “We demand that the authorities adopt the necessary measures to attract pediatric professionals to primary care centres.’

• ‘The lack of recognition of paediatric specialities makes it difficult to offer public employment positions to paediatricians with specific profiles and generates shocking situations, such as paediatricians with expertise in liver transplantation being sent to work in the paediatric emergency department of a hospital or paediatricians from Primary Care being assigned to intensive care units. “We urge that a geographical map be drawn up to estimate the need for paediatric specialists in relation to the paediatric population in order to plan the specialized human resources needed in the future.’

• Paediatric specialities are recognized in the European Community and in other countries of the world. Due to the lack of recognition, Spanish specialists have difficulties in obtaining recognition for their paediatric degrees in order to be able to work in other countries. The situation is reproduced within our borders, where the lack of recognition hinders mobility between autonomous communities. “We demand the recognition of the ACEs in Paediatrics so that Spanish paediatricians can work on equal terms with our European colleagues and on an equal footing in all Spanish autonomous communities.’