Carlos César says that the Azores Radiotherapy Centre is a relevant service in the health sector
The President of the Regional Government considered on Monday morning that the future Azores Radiotherapy Centre as a “project which will indubitably represent a huge evolution in the provision of health care in the Azores.”
Presiding over the signing ceremony of the contract for the drafting, construction and operation of this healthcare unit – with an estimated cost of 34 million Euros investment which will be installed on land adjacent to the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada – Carlos César stressed that “it will be undoubtedly one of the most sensitive and relevant health services created in the Azores, which the Government is proud to ensure its achievement.”
As he explained, the operation of the Radiotherapy Centre in the Azores will bring great benefits for cancer patients, who still have to travel to the mainland to receive treatment.
“Our patients will be provided the necessary conditions to receive treatment on São Miguel, becoming closer to the support of their families. Therefore, this Radiotherapy Centre will ease the great discomfort from a human point of view and reduce the high financial costs for individuals, families and the Region’s budget.”
The Radiotherapy Centre is estimated to treat about 650 Azorean patients, which corresponds to an average of twenty-five sessions per person, a total of 16,500 of radiotherapy sessions per year. With regard to brachytherapy treatments, 100 sessions are estimated at first phase with the possibility of extending to 200 sessions within few years.
Moreover, with this Centre the Azores will be also capable of providing the available treatments not only to the patients of the regional health service, but also to insurance companies or other external companies.
Carlos César stressed, however, that the Government’s action boost the healthcare services is not limited to the area of cancer treatment, mentioning the various ongoing screenings or at a preparation stage in the archipelago.
In the case breast cancer screening, nearly eighteen thousand have been screened in a first phase and a second is being prepared. The cervical cancer screening programme is already taking place since April 2010 at the all Healthcare Units in the Azores, comprising nearly seventy-five women aged between 25 and 64 years.
Moreover, the colorectal cancer screening is at an implementation stage and it is addressed at the all Azorean population aged between 50 and 70 years, corresponding to a total of fifty thousand people.
“These screening are the pillars of health prevention which will certainly allow the early detection of many situations that may effectively treated, thus saving many lives,” stated Carlos César.
Revealing that the data of the Cancer Register from 1997 to 2006 will be published soon in order to facilitate the research, assessment, guidance and planning tasks in the health sector, the President of the Regional Government stressed that this type of measures will bring more quality and innovation, improving the offer in the regional health system.
Furthermore, Carlos César called the attention for “a careful use of the available resources” in order to assure the availability, quality and sustainability of the Regional Health Service.
“All the money we save in our hospitals and healthcare centres, as it happens in other areas, which is invested in services to benefit the Azorean population, such as this Centre to provide cancer treatment in the Azores, is a justified investment,” concluded Carlos César.