Therefore, SESPAS has called for an «urgent reinforcement» of healthcare structures, as well as «greater protection and promotion of health through strengthening Primary Care» and the need for «training, collaboration, and coordination among different agents.»
SESPAS emphasizes that there are «very good diagnoses» about what happened during the pandemic and the necessary measures to improve, «such as the report on the Evaluation of the performance of the National Health System against the Covid-19 pandemic,» however, they consider that «it is essential to act immediately.»
«Efficiency in addressing the next public health challenges is based on prior and organized preparation, not on improvisation during emergencies,» said the president of SESPAS, Eduardo Satué, who added that this includes the creation of robust contingency plans and the streamlining of detection and response mechanisms.
The scientific society insists that the focus of attention to the population in the face of epidemics and other health risks should be based on «disease prevention, health protection and promotion, in a strong network of Primary Care, and in an ‘informed’ citizenship.»
«There is no zero risk, and preventive and control measures taken in situations of uncertainty must be explained with the utmost transparency possible, and deliberation on them should be allowed,» added Satué.
«The stronger the collaboration network in civil society is, the more possibilities there are to respond effectively to alarms, as demonstrated by healthcare professionals, and the responsibility that citizens showed,» recalled Satué, who believes that «it is essential to weigh the expected benefits of the measures to be taken against their potential adverse effects, always preserving equity to the maximum.»
COORDINATION THROUGH AESAP AND STRENGTHENING OF WHO
For the scientific society, epidemics do not know borders, so they point out that training, collaboration, and coordination among professionals, administrations, and countries are essential. «Institutions like the State Public Health Agency (AESAP), which, let’s remember, is still not operational, and whose implementation should be a priority, should be coordinated at the Spanish, European, and global levels,» insisted Satué.
Likewise, it is necessary to reinforce institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO), which are one of the few elements of global governance. Thus, SESPAS concludes that, five years later, «the lessons learned from the pandemic must translate into concrete actions to avoid repeating past mistakes and ensure an effective response to future health crises.»
