The Catalan Health Service and the Parc Taulí University Hospital in Sabadell, the Mútua Terrassa University Hospital, the Terrassa University Hospital and Althaia Xarxa Assistencial Universitària de Manresa have signed an agreement this week to develop a Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) that will serve the population of Vallès Occidental, Bages, Berguedà, Solsonès, Moianès and Cerdanya, with the aim of strengthening comprehensive, coordinated and patient-centered oncological care.
This joint project is based on the integration of care, research and innovation, following European standards in oncology.
The EU is promoting a network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres within the European Plan against Cancer with the aim that 90% of European patients have access to centres with this model before 2030. In Catalonia, the Bellvitge Health Campus, the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona already have CCC accreditation.
The new approach will allow the consolidation of multidisciplinary clinical teams by tumor type, integrating professionals from different specialties —medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgery, imaging diagnostics, pathological anatomy and genetics, among others— to guarantee joint and personalized decision-making for each patient.
A territorial network to improve equity
In the territory of Vallès Occidental, Bages, Solsonès, Moianès, Berguedà and Cerdanya, the collaboration between the four hospitals involved will allow the structuring of a territorial network that guarantees equitable access to highly specialized oncological services, avoiding inequalities and bringing resources closer to the population.
Within this framework, users of the Berguedà and Cerdanya hospitals will also be able to access this service through the oncology service of Althaia Xarxa Assistencial Universitària de Manresa, which provides oncology services to hospitals in these regions, which expands the territorial scope of the project and reinforces its dimension of equity and proximity.
This network model will also facilitate knowledge sharing, healthcare coordination and the generation of synergies in the field of research and innovation.
The first step
The agreement is the first step so that the signatory hospitals can equip themselves with the appropriate legal framework to promote and strengthen the creation of a center that is part of the CCC network. The Catalan Health Service participates in this agreement with the aim of guaranteeing the alignment of the project with public health planning, territorial coordination, healthcare equity and the cohesion of the system.