Speaking at last night's Integrated Care Award ceremony, the Minister of the Presidency, Neus Munté, affirmed that the development and implementation of an Integrated Social and Health Care model is “a priority” on the Government’s political agenda and “must allow us to build a model that is based on the individual”.

The award ceremony was part of the 16^th International Conference on Integrated Care taking place this week in Barcelona and which has brought together researchers, clinicians and managers from around the world to share their experience in terms of integrating  public health and social care policies within their respective healthcare systems.

The Minister described Catalonia as “a leader” in social and health care integration models “because we are aware that an ageing population, and its resulting demand for public services, is one of the most important challenges faced by societies in the 21st century”.

Thus, the Government of Catalonia is placing all of it political determination “in order to generate the change and transformation needed to face these challenges that many times surpass the area of competence of one single department”, affirmed Munté.

In this respect, the Inter-ministerial Plan for Social and Health Care and Interaction (PIAISS), aimed at “promoting and participating in the transformation of the social and health care model” was implemented in 2014 to ensure that the integrated system of care “focuses on individuals and is able to provide for their needs”.

“We are ahead of a great national project”, maintained Minister Munté. “We are taking the first steps that will bring us to a social and political debate […] to outline the future of our own welfare system” and for this reason, the Catalan Government has made it “a priority at the centre of its programme and at the core of its executive action”, she assured.

Aware that inter-sectorial policies “are probably the most important challenges in the years to come in terms of shaping our country’s welfare system”, Neus Munté explained that the “path that leads us to integrated health and social care” would be instrumental “when thinking about other inter-sectorial policies”, such as employment and social policies; education and employment policies and employment and economic or fiscal policies.

“Catalonia can and wants to play a key role”, announced the Minister in her concluding remarks and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to an integrated health and social care model as it continues to “position itself as a model of excellence in integrated care with a socio-sanitary perspective”. A ‘model’, she claimed, that “wants to learn from the best, from the most advanced practices”, but also a model “that shares its path with the international community”.

The conference is co-organised by the International Foundation of Integrated Care (IFIC), PIAISS of the Catalan Government, Hospital Clinic Barcelona (HCB), Forum ITESSS and the Tic Salut Foundation and will conclude today, Wednesday 25^th of May.