At the Hotel Eurostars Madrid Tower, GETECCU president Yamile Zabana and vice-president Daniel Ginard presented a plan for inflammatory bowel disease care. Territorial inequality was a basic theme at the group's 37th National Meeting. Its ten proposals cover diagnosis, treatment, mental health, childhood care and research for a condition affecting around 300,000 people in Spain.
The plan is neither a new regulation nor an active government programme. It is a joint roadmap from professionals and patients, calling for faster diagnosis, wider access to specialist units and fewer administrative barriers to new treatments.
The aim is straightforward: people with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis should receive consistent specialist care wherever they live. As RTVE reported, access to accredited EII centres and treatment pathways also varies between Spain's autonomous communities.
Zabana described EII as a growing healthcare and social challenge and said isolated responses would not be enough. The group wants doctors to consider the disease's effects on work, social life and emotional wellbeing alongside its clinical course.
The ten priorities include reducing stigma, earlier diagnosis, stronger professional training and better coordination between disciplines. The plan also calls for equal access to accredited EII units and treatments, integrated psychosocial support, specific care for children and a structured transition to adult services. Prevention, vaccination and stable public funding for research and innovation round out the list.
GETECCU and ACCU España propose wider use of screening tools such as faecal calprotectin. They also want stronger specialist nursing services and more accredited units. Psychological support, they say, should be part of routine care.
The organisations say administrative obstacles should not determine whether a patient receives appropriate treatment. That concern underpins their demand for equal access between territories.
GETECCU said EII could affect close to 1% of Spain's population. Forecasts indicate that more than seven million people in Europe and the United States may live with these diseases by 2030. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are the basic conditions covered by the term EII.
The national conference continues until 3 October. Sessions will examine how a unit of excellence should be organised, gaps in mental health and quality-of-life care, and why urgency to defecate remains a poorly visible symptom.
Another debate will focus on early treatment with advanced therapies, including their benefits, risks and selection criteria.
The programme includes an international research and treatment perspective. Sebastian Zeissig of the University of Bern will assess the place of JAK inhibitors in the EII treatment algorithm. Remo Panaccione of the University of Calgary will review ten clinical trials that have changed practice.
The focus on specialist care also fits the broader medical theme covered in an earlier report. The conditions in that report were different.
GETECCU is asking for more than visibility. Its proposals link diagnosis, treatment, nursing, psychology, childhood care and research in one care model. ACCU España says patients and their associations must help shape decisions.
