Sant Pau Hospital has collaborated in the creation of the new Plan for the care of people with Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonisms, an initiative by the Department of Health as part of the National Strategy for Neurodegenerative Diseases. This contribution highlights the center's expertise as a national reference in addressing these pathologies.
The plan establishes a strategic roadmap with measures to improve the care model, aiming to ensure quality, accessible, continuous, equitable, effective, and comprehensive care. The goal is to go beyond diagnosis, considering the disease's progression, changing support needs throughout life, and the role of family members and caregivers.
The Sant Pau professionals involved in developing the document over more than two years include Antònia Campolongo (nurse), Dr. Saül Martínez-Horta (neuropsychologist), Elena León (nurse), and Dr. Rocio Puig (adjunct physician). They all agree on the need for care that anticipates functional, cognitive, emotional, and social changes, and responds to complex situations.
Sant Pau is recognized as a reference center for movement disorders, with a Neurology Unit accredited as a Center, Service, and Reference Unit (CSUR). The center has extensive experience in rare neurological diseases and is a pioneer in deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease, a technique it has applied for 25 years.
Parkinson's disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonisms (AP) have a significant social and health impact. In Catalonia, the prevalence of PD in 2025 was 4.2 cases per 1,000 inhabitants (over 34,000 people). AP includes corticobasal degeneration (CBD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), with specific prevalences per million inhabitants. Currently, there is no cure, and available treatments aim to slow progression and manage symptoms.
The plan, developed by an interdisciplinary group of experts, includes nine strategic lines translated into 23 operational projects and 77 specific actions. These lines cover early diagnosis, comprehensive treatment, continuous care, support for the caregiving environment, training, definition of care settings, a registry for PD and AP in Catalonia, and the promotion of research.
The evaluation of the plan's implementation, using key indicators, will be crucial for decision-making. The document also considers future scenarios such as population aging, advancements in medical knowledge, personalized medicine, and technologies like artificial intelligence and social robotics.
