This statement was made during a control session, in response to a question from the spokesperson for Comuns Sumar, David Cid Colomer, who criticized the Minister because the Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into territorial discrimination regarding thrombectomy practices in Tarragona and Lleida.
Pané insisted that, while the goal is territorial equity, sometimes dispersing resources can be counterproductive. She argued that the stroke master plan recommends concentrating cases to ensure the quality of the service.
“"If professionals treat few cases, they do not have enough experience to resolve complex cases. We are constantly monitoring to see when we can take the leap to extend the treatments."
Currently, Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona and Arnau de Vilanova in Lleida only offer thrombectomies from eight in the morning to eight in the evening. Outside these hours, severe stroke patients from the Tarragona area are transferred to centers in Barcelona, such as Hospital de Bellvitge. According to Department of Health data, one in four severe stroke patients in Tarragona is currently diverted to the Catalan capital.
The Minister detailed that training in neuroradiology, necessary to perform this treatment, requires having treated at least one hundred cases accompanied by another professional. In Catalunya, approximately 1,100 cases are performed annually across all centers, which complicates the rapid deployment of the 24-hour service without compromising quality.
