Award ceremony of the Josep Trueta Medals and Plaques for health merit.

On December 19, 2016 took place the ceremony of the awarding of the Josep Trueta Medals and Plaques for health merit (awarded since 1997) at the Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona. The Director of the Avedis Donabedian Foundation Rosa Suñol received the Medal from the hands of the Conseller de Salut Antoni Comín and made the speech on behalf of the awardees, which we pass you below:

First of all, I appreciate that you have thought of me to thank you in the name of all the recipients of the Department's highest distinction. I think that maybe it is because I am dedicated to quality and this is the common thread among all of us. Beyond the technical definitions, according to popular wisdom, quality means “to do it well”, “that it is good” and I believe that the institutions and people who have been awarded today have in common the fact of “having done it well”.

Allow me to quote one of them in particular: Dr. Joaquim Ramis. Dr. Ramis has been for all of us an example of commitment to children and their families, but also to Catalonia and its health system. All of us represent different areas of this system that complement each other, forming a mosaic in a beautiful landscape.

For me, it is important that this message reaches me when we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the famous article by Professor Donabedian, the father of quality in health systems, who classified quality methods into structure, process and result. Professor Donabedian was born in Beirut, the son of a refugee mother, who fled across the desert from the Armenian genocide, where a million people died. When he grew up, he emigrated to the United States because of the problems that Jerusalem was experiencing after the Second World War. Today I would like to remember my friends in Syria, in Egypt and throughout the region, and those who have had to flee and who may not find the comfort that Professor Donabedian found to become one of the greats of public health.

It has also been many years, at least more than thirty and in some cases even more than fifty, that those of us who are here today to receive this honor have worked to build a better health system, a better country and, in some way, a better society. When at the end of his life Professor Donabedian was asked what the secret of quality was, he answered that it was love: love of knowledge, love of people. Today I would like to complement this by saying that the secret of quality is love for people, especially the most vulnerable, as well as the enthusiasm to meet challenges and enjoy the day-to-day work.

We have had the good fortune to be able to contribute, with our daily work, to improve our health system. We all have stories of when we started. In my case, I remember well the efforts to help reduce the variability of breast cancer treatment, when patients were treated according to the criteria of the department head of the hospital where they were admitted. Today, the work of oncologists, using evidence-based protocols, care safety systems, psychological and social support and research innovations have allowed us to improve survival and quality of life dramatically. We have learned, therefore, that we can only do a few things and that without teamwork that integrates health, social and research care we cannot build the future of the health system. I cannot finish this speech, and you will excuse my professional deformation, since I come from the world of quality and continuous improvement, without mentioning all that remains to be done. We cannot fall into complacency. In all our fields there are great challenges. First of all, we have the duty to maintain what we have achieved: a good health system free for all. The future leads us to a paradigm shift that includes the co-creation with patients of a model of integrated care focused on the social and health needs of individuals and the health of the community. We must also ensure that it is sustainable and that new professionals can find their place there and develop their enthusiasm.

None of us who are here today come alone. We are accompanied by our families and friends. Also, in the distance, all those with whom we have worked, here and abroad, and our teachers, who now share this recognition. Fortunately, many companies and younger colleagues come to the forefront and make good the verses of the poem by Nadal de Foix:
“Res no s'acaba i tot comença, vénen mecànics de remença amb olis nous de llibertat”.

Thank you very much again in the name of all the guardians!