2024-03-18 17:35:00
Medicine has solidarity in its DNA. More of 9,000 kilometers separate Madrid from Cuzco (Peru) and this has not stopped the project of Chiesi Foundation has landed in the Santa Rita Polyclinic, located in this Peruvian region that is difficult to access in the middle of the Andes mountain range and the Amazon jungle that is located at 4,000 meters above sea level. There the spirometry global access project (GASP) to improve the quality of life of patients with chronic respiratory pathologies such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“We have gone to Peru to know what the health system is like From there, understand it better and see how we can help. All this from the Foundation I asked and the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (Separ) Solidarity”, indicated Carmen Basolas, director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability of Chiesi Spain and Portugal in the presentation of this initiative.
At the head of the coordination of the foundation is Massimo Salvadori, who has explained that the main reason why Pulmonology is one of its focuses is because 90 percent of COPD cases They are located in countries in the southern hemisphere. “The objective of GASP is the development of a model for the diagnosis and management of these chronic respiratory diseases“, he detailed.
Carmen Basolas, director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability of Chiesi Spain and Portugal.
What are the main lines of the project? First, improve diagnosis through the establishment of spirometry laboratories, these tests allow people to measure their lung capacity and detect abnormalities. According to experts, in Spain it is a common practice, however, in Not even health professionals know regarding Peru. For this reason, another leg of the project is the training and education of specialists in the area, but also of patients and families.
Likewise, GASP is committed to awareness through information and prevention programs, but also works to ensure access to adequate service and treatment for all patients. “Peru is one of the countries where we are present, but we have also carried this project to Guyana and Nepal“said Salvadori.
Massimo Salvadori, coordinator of the Chiesi Foundation.
For his part, José María García, co-director of Separ Solidaria, has also traveled to Peru with this alliance and sums it up in one sentence: “They give you much more than you give.” “All the staff there do an incredible job, they care for people in need, they give them medicine and They set up polyclinics in an hour. Implementing spirometry is essential because caring for a respiratory patient, because without this proof it is going blind. It has to be an action that does not just stop here, but continues.”
Along these lines, Francisco García Río, president of Separ, has highlighted the role of society and its most supportive aspect when it comes to generate knowledge and advance promotion of respiratory health. “It is not enough to contribute something in one place, but to maintain commitment over time so that it has long-term consequences. Separ Solidaria tries provide material (diagnosis and therapeutic) and improve the training of professionals,” he commented.
Francisco García Río, president of Separ.
José María García, co-director of Separ Solidaria.
An exchange of knowledge between healthcare professionals
Taking this project to Cuzco requires the help of those who know their healthcare system bestFor this reason, the GASP project has relied on Peruvian professionals such as Juan Carlos Rojas, a pulmonologist in the area, who has reported that to strengthen the system we must know “how it is articulated.” “Now we know that there are simple things we can do and that they do not need equipment, like the walking test. But we have work ahead of us because there is no knowledge on the part of the staff regarding what spirometry is or, by citizens, regarding how to identify chronic diseases. This project seeks to help in all of this.”
In fact, Rojas has traveled to Madrid to also learn how healthcare works in Spain and highlights the “responsibility of workers.” “He gives us a vision of the future, I think This is going to be the start of something bigger. what an impact not only on Peru but in South America“.
Juan Carlos Rojas, pulmonologist from Cuzco.
Elisabeth Escalante, nurse at the Santa Rita Polyclinic – Cuzco.
The same opinion is shared by Elizabeth Escalante, a Peruvian nurse at the Santa Rita Polyclinic, who has highlighted that Spanish health professionals are “very dedicated and provide a complete service”. “I want my team to function and work in coordination just like what I have seen here, and for the medical centers to have basic tests for diagnosis. The important thing is that our work contribute for the good of the patient“he stated.
The event was also attended by Chiara Lombardi, head of the GASP program in Cusco. For her, the main challenge is that citizens are very exposed to biomass burning and they do not have access to a health system. “They arrive at hospitals when they are already serious and, furthermore, They do not receive follow-up or education regarding his illness,” he specified, while adding that the idea is to replicate this project nationally, beyond the polyclinic.
Chiara Lombardi, responsible for the GASP Program of Cuzco (Peru) – Santa Rita Polyclinic.
Núria Toledo, pulmonologist and member of Separ Solidaria.
However, this initiative would not have the good results obtained if it were not thanks to their volunteers. Núria Toledo, pulmonologist, and Montse Adell, nurse, are part of this group of Separ Solidaria. Both agree that they have been very struck by the fact that the health system is not accessible due to a geographic issue. “They have to walk two or three hours until you reach a center to be attended to,” Toledo assured. “For this to be perpetuated and for there to be a change, it is necessary train professionals well and that it has a cascade effect,” he added.
Montse Adell, nurse and member of Separ Solidaria.
While Adell has specified that they have to give “structural changes in the health system” for this to improve: “Spirometry in Spain is basic, but implementing it in a distant place for people who did not know how it worked was also a personal challenge. I have helped transmitting my knowledge and I have felt that I contributed”
Finally, Giuseppe Chiericatti, general director of Chiesi Spain and Portugal, closed the presentation by highlighting the company’s work in projects like this one that He hopes that they will “generate a contagion effect.”
Giuseppe Chiericatti, general director of Chiesi España and Portugal.
Round table: ‘The reality in Peru – The experience of collaboration and exchange’.
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