• 49 million

    Spain has reached 49 million inhabitants for the first time on 1 January 2025 and, as the National Institute of Statistics points out, «the population growth is due to the increase in the number of people born abroad, as those born in Spain are decreasing». I thought it would be interesting to take this record…

  • Banning, the buzzword

    In recent weeks we have been learning the true way of thinking of the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and her controversial proposals on how to organise the doctors’ collective in the future of the national health system, as well as her vision of public-private collaboration, based on the situation of Muface. I am not…

  • Farewell to a bittersweet 2024

    2024 ends with several pending issues for the health sector and others that, although they seem to have saved the course, do not have the necessary basis to guarantee their survival in the medium term, which may compromise the sustainability of our health system. Let’s take it one by one. Until now, I have not…

  • (Re)building the future

    I would like to dedicate a new blog to the terrible catastrophe that occurred in Valencia as a result of the storm of 29 October. I would also like to do so in memory of one of the deceased, Antonio Noblejas, a great businessman, entrepreneur and all-rounder, a humanist and a great person. He was…

  • Together, we will rise again

    Today’s blog entry is written out of sadness, but also out of hope. In Valencia these days we have experienced the greatest tragedy I can remember in my life, due to the very high number of deaths and the extent of the floods caused by the DANA. The storms and overflowing rivers and ravines have…

  • Two different sectors, one failure

    I usually talk about healthcare in my blog. But on this occasion I would like to reflect on the private management of other public services and what has happened in the Valencian Community, specifically with regard to the problems generated by the end of the concessions of the Technical Vehicle Inspections (ITV). Because, although it…

  • A report worth a thousand tweets

    PPPs in Spain have had to face hoaxes and defend themselves against all kinds of accusations for many years. And unfortunately it still has to do so. The quality of care, the qualifications of the professionals and even the mortality rates in privately managed public hospitals have been questioned in comparison with those under direct…

  • A dangerous setback for our healthcare system

    The Minister of Health, Mónica García, has announced the start of the processing of the Law on public management and integrity of the National Health System, with the first step, the public consultation opened on Monday. The main aim of this law is to limit the private management of public hospitals with a criterion based…

  • Waiting lists, a structural problem of the system

    Last week two facts were made public which, each on its own is very bad news, but together they are disastrous, and show that in Spain we have a very serious problem in the management of public health care: all records have been broken in patient waiting lists, while the new Minister of Health continues…

  • Vigo’s Gold Medal for Ribera Povisa: pride and commitment

    Yesterday was a very special day for the Ribera healthcare group in general and for Povisa in particular. Over the last year, we have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of this great Galician hospital, a reference throughout Spain. The Vigo City Council approved the awarding of the Vigo Gold Medal to the Ribera…

  • Mourning and the response of a Valencia in solidarity

    I usually use this blog to give my opinion on the healthcare situation, the future of healthcare and other issues related to the sector. However, I cannot ignore the tragedy experienced in Valencia on Thursday 22 February, as a result of the fire in the 14-storey building on Avenida Maestro Rodrigo, in the Campanar neighbourhood,…

  • Microsoft, Ribera and Seattle

    The first thing I would like to do as I begin my first blog entry in 2024 is to wish a happy new year to those of you who follow this modest digital corner, where I share my experiences and opinions about the health sector and the system that should look after our health and…

  • 25 years in Ribera: the journey of my life

    Today, 1st December 2023, I am celebrating 25 years at Ribera and in the public-private partnership model that we had the privilege of launching all those years ago. On this same day, but in 1998, I was appointed manager of the Hospital de la Ribera, in Alzira, the first privately managed public hospital in Europe.…

  • The True Face of Valencian Healthcare

    A couple of weeks ago, I closely followed the first appearance in Les Corts Valencianes of the new Health Minister, Marciano Gómez. On one hand, he outlined the general lines of the new healthcare policy of the Government led by Carlos Mazón, which I will undoubtedly have the opportunity to analyze in detail on this…

  • Innovation and Collaborative Healthcare

    This week, I had the privilege of participating in a major forum on innovation, the Portugal Healthcare Innovation Summit, as the president of Ribera and alongside the management team of Hospital de Cascais, a clear example of an innovative management model for Portugal and other countries. This forum was chaired by the Minister of Health,…

  • Portugal takes action

    Just a few days ago, the Portuguese Government presented the draft Decree Law for the reform of its National Health System, which will come into force on 1 January 2024. This reform changes the entire organisational structure of the Portuguese NHS, creating 31 local health units and promoting an integrated health model, which introduces a…

  • Muface, underfunding and trade union advocacy

    Wherever you look, healthcare is going through a very complex time. And the public administrations are not making it any easier. I have commented on this in previous blogs. We have imbalances, a serious problem of underfunding and challenges that have been on the table for many years now, and few public managers are willing…

  • The genetics of internationalisation

    While I was travelling to Kuwait last week, I was thinking about how, thanks to the public-private collaboration model that we started with our first hospital in 1999, we at the Ribera Healthcare Group have had the opportunity to meet very interesting and different people from almost every corner of the world. On some occasions…

  • The value of growing and maintaining principles and roots

    The year is coming to an end and it is time to take stock of these twelve months and our challenges for 2023. In general, 2022 will be remembered as the year of the war in Ukraine, the first in Europe for 30 years, following the Russian invasion. This conflict has brought back the worst…

  • There’s an elephant in the room

    The pandemic has been a global tragedy from which we should have learned. However, that is not the impression that the public has, given the current situation in hospitals and primary care centres. That is why it is more necessary than ever to take brave and efficient decisions, in order to guarantee the sustainability of…

  • The Michael Neidorff Room

    It may seem surprising, but the truth is that this is the first blog that I have written in 2022. We have experienced very intense months at the Ribera healthcare group since practically the start of the year. Together with the challenges of the healthcare sector and the effects on the Covid pandemic, which are…

  • 32 years working for close, sustainable and innovative healthcare

    In this blog I would like to share some words of thanks for the New Medical Economics award which I received on 15th, November, in Madrid, for the work carried out during my career.  Firstly, I would like to thank this renowned medium of digital communication, edited by Health Economics S.L. and managed by Doctor…

  • A responsible health model for a better world

    Let me share with you all my article published in the spanish digital newspaper El Español on 11th November 2021 about Sustainable Development Goals Leaving the world in a better way than what we found it, thinking about the future with strong foundations in terms of well-being and designing tomorrow with sustainability, efficiency and solidarity…

  • The Ribera Salud doctrine

    Last Thursday we were informed about the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling number 952/2021’s regarding reversions and the adherence to the 2012 Budgetary Stability Organic Law and that the fact that it, without a doubt, affects the case started by the Valencian regional government for the internalization of the management of the University hospital of Torrevieja.…

  • For responsible health

    In today’s blog I want to share an interview that I had recently with  La Voz de Galicia. The Ribera Group and Centene’s commitment to the Galician Community has been evident for several years. We manage three hospitals there: Ribera Povisa, in Vigo; Ribera Polusa, in Lugo; and since just a few weeks ago, Ribera…

  • Nurses, the soul of the healthcare centers

    Last Sunday I had the honour of participating as the keynote speaker in the graduation of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University of Valencia’s 17th year of nursing. It was a very moving ceremony and it filled me with pride addressing the new nursing professionals, one of which was one of my children. They are very…

  • The example of Farnós

    Joaquín Farnós, a person to whom the healthcare and politics of the Valencian Community and Spain owe a lot, has passed away. He was always a pioneer and, in my opinion, someone very ahead of his time. This is because he didn’t hesitate to defend projects, initiatives and management models in order to guarantee quality…

  • Citizens lead the way

    The number of people taking out health insurance has steadily increased over the last decade. Almost thirteen million citizens in Spain (12,802,665 to be exact) currently have it in our country, according to ICEA, the Spanish Insurance Sector’s Studies Service, responsible for carrying out research and publishing all of the statistics. The number of health…

  • Three challenges for the health system

    I would like to take advantage of this blog to publically reflect on and provide my post-pandemic vision. You know, those of you who follow these blog entries, that I often like to reflect on and analyze the current situation, in order to try to stay ahead of the game and make the best decisions…

  • Overlooking healthcare is a mistake

    This is my first blog entry of 2021 and although the majority of us were hoping that the year would have started better, the truth is that this pandemic is making life difficult for us. As the president of Valencia’s College of Physicians quite rightly described, this is not a wave, this is a vertical…

  • Open letter to Torrevieja Health Department employees

    Dear colleagues, As you all know, yesterday the Health councillor, Ana Barceló, unfortunately confirmed the Generalitat Valenciana’s unilateral decision to not extend Torrevieja Health Department’s contract with Ribera Salud. I firmly believe this is the wrong decision for the professionals and citizens in this area, and worst of all is that I am certain that…

  • The Challenge of digital transformation

    Based on my intervention during the 1st Public Health Observatory Symposium, organised by the newspaper El Español on September 10, I would like to share some of the thoughts I was able to contribute to that interesting forum, specifically during the discussion panel dedicated to digital transformation. When we talk about digital transformation, of the…

  • A new opportunity

    We have been talking about this for many years. The post-COVID-19 reality means that it is now more necessary than ever to undergo reformations in the Health sector that will allow the system to be more flexible and provide it with the tools necessary to face health care crisis such as that we have just…

  • Digitalisation and reindustrialisation, more lessons from this crisis

    Last Friday I was interviewed on Cadena Ser by Amadeo Salvador and Arturo Blay, with whom I talked about the importance of global strategies when facing healthcare crises like COVID-19, how this worldwide emergency has proven that we need digital technology and the importance of undertaking an urgent reindustrialisation in Spain. As I have said…

  • For a sincere collaboration

    We have been under a state of alarm for over a month in response to the COVID-19 healthcare crisis, which has forced most of the population into lockdown and has ground practically the entire economy to a halt as a consequence. This decision, absolutely necessary to help curb this public health crisis, had to be…

  • Let’s build from a place of unity

    When we celebrated the start of a new decade a little over three months ago, no one could have imagined that the 21st-century’s first pandemic was knocking on the door. It was a moment when we all wished each other health and happiness for the coming year. Health, what a beautiful word. Today we’re fighting…

  • Generosity and a call to service: committed young people

    All the professionals at Ribera Salud Group are doing their best during this crisis caused by the COVID19 global pandemic. We’re an organisation of people who serve people, and over these past few weeks our staff has proved that it always takes the extra step to ensure the best possible care for those who need…

  • The value of the local sphere

    It’s been one week since the government announced a state of alarm, and citizens and organisations are still struggling to adapt to these exceptional circumstances. We are all writing a line in the Story of managing this global pandemic, the first of the 21st century. Every citizen plays their part in this situation: health professionals,…

  • Together, a step ahead of the virus

    As a society, we are facing a global crisis caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus, a public health threat that originated China and spread across several countries to neighbouring Italy, France and Spain and is now a global pandemic. It is this century’s first crisis deserving of the name. I’m not a doctor and cannot offer…

  • Tripping twice (or a thousand times) on the same stone

    I have spoken several times on this blog about waiting lists, and this time I want to start with public recognition of the transparency exercise undertaken by the Generalitat. Even when the data isn’t good, there is no doubt that transparency is essential in a mature society that aspires to progress. Unlike many, I like…

  • We all create the future together

    The future belongs to the brave. Ronald Reagan said this phrase, so frequently repeated by coaching experts, to the North Americans after the Challenger tragedy in 1986. His message was clear: We can never give up, we must always be looking forwards, work hard, get up after every fall, keep moving and never stay still.…

  • Condemned to wait?

    The year is ending with the worst waiting lists in the recent history of Spain. The Ministry of Health has published this information by autonomous communities on September 30th and the balance is shocking. The average waiting time on a national scale has moved from 93 to 115 days in just one year. This is…

  • Welcome Povisa Ribera Salud focuses on local projects with global strategies

    I haven’t written any entries for the blog since September because I wanted the first entry this year to be about the incorporation of Povisa to the Ribera Salud group. Finally, it is now a reality.   I have been personally following the project of this great Vigo hospital since 1990. It was probably one…

  • Futurs, the innovation lab by Ribera Salud

    They say perfection doesn’t exist. Perhaps. But our obligation at Ribera Salud is to always seek excellence in our patient care and to be ambitious. It’s a real challenge, I know. But right now we avail of a tool that we didn’t have before: technology. That’s Futurs: the revolution of health technology at the service…

  • Boom! Alzira’s problems explode

    I didn’t think that I would be devoting any more lines in this blog to the Ribera Health Department, the past is in the past. But the Works Council press conference last Tuesday brought a feeling of déjà vu. Listening to them speak, the language they used, the deplorable state of the centre and the…

  • I want a country of ‘Amancios Ortegas’

    The strategies and ways of those who manage Spanish social politics and healthcare have hardly changed in the last few decades but our society certainly has. And when a structure that is already quite rigid is put under pressure, it can break. With 30 years of experience in health management, I still continue to be…

  • A year since La Ribera reversal (Chapter 3)

    The Health Department of La Ribera (Alzira) began to be publicly managed on 1 April 2018, following the reversal. A year has since passed. In my opinion, more than enough time to draw conclusions about its performance for citizens and professionals alike. Valuations that, as you may have read in my previous two blog entries,…

  • A year since La Ribera reversal (Chapter 2)

    “I am very sorry for all those who predicted that Alzira would be a victim of its own success once it rid itself of private management”. Thus began the first part of my blog devoted to the reversal of La Ribera Healthcare Department (Alzira). Today, I press on with the need to publish, analyse and…

  • A year since La Ribera reversal (Chapter 1)

    In just one year we have seen that the most controversial decision of the Valencian Regional Government, the return to public management of La Ribera Healthcare Department, is not bearing the fruits anticipated by the major advocates of 100% public health. The truth is that after 365 days, La Ribera Healthcare Department (Alzira) neither works…

  • Are the Audit Office reports worth the paper they are printed on?

      Yesterday, the newspaper Valencia Plaza published an in-depth interview with Vicent Cucarella, the President of the Audit Office. An interview that caught my attention and that I read with great interest because of the resounding statement the journalist chose as the title: “We have no objection to submitting ourselves to more checks, but not…