The vice-secretary of La Unió and general director of the Aspace Catalunya Foundation places new generations, social and healthcare integration and value-based financing as keys to the future of the system
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Catalan Union of Hospitals has become much more than an institutional commemoration. In front of more than 700 representatives of institutions, organizations and professionals from the health and social system, Elena Puigdevall, general director of the Aspace Catalunya Foundation, gave an intervention with a clear message: the Catalan model must take a profound turn to guarantee its sustainability and continue to lead on a European scale.
In the framework of an event full of emotion, where founding entities, exemplary trajectories and transformative projects were recognized, Puigdevall defended that Catalonia today has a solid healthcare network that is close to the entire territory", built over decades from a commitment to public service and cooperation. But he warned that the current context requires going beyond continuity.
A generational turning point
Addressing emerging talent in particular, it has positioned generational change as one of the system's greatest structural challenges, along with the aging population, the increase in healthcare complexity and the lack of professionals.
"Transformation is no longer an expectation of the future, but a reality that forces us to make decisions with a sense of urgency," he said, calling for shared leadership and institutional trust to consolidate the changes underway.
According to Puigdevall, the future will depend on the ability to introduce new ways of working, share responsibilities and open decision-making spaces to new generations, at a time that he has defined as "decisive" for the sustainability of the model.
From disease treatment to health and community management
One of the central themes of the discourse has been the need to move from a model focused on disease care to an approach oriented towards the health of individuals and communities, integrating health, social and preventive factors.
He cited international references such as Jennifer Dixon, CEO of The Health Foundation, who point towards this transformation, as well as experiences from systems such as Denmark or Singapore, which work with shared responsibility for health outcomes.
It has also put on the table the need to rethink the productivity of the system, incorporating new professional profiles and making strategic use of technology and artificial intelligence, in line with initiatives promoted by other European systems.
New financing and territorial equity
Puigdevall has explicitly defended the evolution towards financing models based on value and health outcomes, as well as a more equitable territorial distribution of resources.
He stressed that these proposals are not hypotheses, but rather proven learning in a global context marked by the crisis of professionals and the increase in health inequalities.
The citizen at the center
In the final section of his speech, he placed the citizen as the real criterion for organizing the system, committing to an integrated portfolio of services that avoids fragmentation and reinforces the community perspective.
“The Catalan model can project itself beyond the country as a benchmark with its own voice in Europe,” he assured, appealing to the knowledge, energy and courage of organizations and professionals to take on this turn with determination.
With the presentation of the video “Som Futur”, La Unió wanted to symbolize this strategic positioning on its fiftieth anniversary. But the message that flew over the event went beyond the anniversary: if the Catalan model has been able to build a solid network in fifty years, the challenge now is to demonstrate that it also knows how to reinvent itself for the next fifty.
