Pediatric Organizations claim child care guaranteed by specialists in health centers

Given the current situation, in which no autonomous community guarantees 100% that childhood is treated in health centers by primary care pediatricians and pediatric nurses, professionals specifically trained to treat childhood health, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP), the Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics (AEPAP), the Spanish Society of Extrahospital Pediatrics and Primary Care (SEPEAP) Pediatric Nursing (AEEP), the Spanish Federation of Pediatric Nursing Associations (FEDAEP) and the Spanish Neonatal Nursing Society (SEEN), manifest the following:

Right to best attention

• All children and adolescents have the right to have a primary care pediatrician That he attends to them in their health center, because he is the most prepared professional in child and adolescent health and what best care can provide.
• Recognizing this attention is essential to make its right to “grow and develop in good health”, as established by the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child and also recognize the Spanish Constitution.
• Primary Care Pediatrician is the fundamental figure for childhood and adolescents for their academic and practice training during the MIR. This is the most trained professional and various studies have shown that their intervention improves health results.
• In the same way, all children and adolescents have rights to be attended by Pediatric Nursing Nursesprofessionals trained to provide specialized, safe and quality care, including the promotion of health, disease prevention and newborn, child or adolescent assistance, within a multiprofesional team.
• The minors attended in the first welfare level by pediatric primary care pediatric and nurses They receive more appropriate attention to their age and obtain better health results than those attended by other professionalsas demonstrated by the systematic reviews of more than 1,000 scientific articles carried out to date:
  • Adjusted medication prescription: Primary Care Pediatricians They prescribe antibiotics more appropriate According to pathology and clinical guides, avoiding bacterial resistances. In addition, they use the most appropriate psychiatric medications for the patient’s age and aligned with the technical chips.
  • Effective vaccination: the percentage of vaccinated patients in accordance with the provisions of the official calendars for each ageIt is greater in primary care consultations attended by pediatric pediatricians and nurses.
  • Early diagnosis: Primary care pediatricians apply better than any other professional DwISHED TESTS (SCREENING) AVAILABLEsuch as metabolic tests, neurological development tests, jaundice protocols in the newborn and detection of alterations in language, visual acuity or development.
  • Monitoring of chronic pathologies: In diseases such as obesity, asthma and hypercholesterolemia, the monitoring of pediatricians guarantees a ATTACHED ATTENTION TO THE protocols and clinical guides Specific by age. The pediatric nurse, ensures the continuity of care, health education and support to both the patient and her family.
  • Diagnostic efficiency: They perform less diagnostic, but more appropriate tests, solving most problems in the health center and reducing the need for derivations to other specialists. This increases the efficiency of the national health system.
  • SECURITY: Attention by pediatrics specialist nurses improves adherence to childhood safety protocols and decreases adverse effects on patients.

THE FAMILY TRUST PROFESSIONAL

• The families of minors trust mostly on pediatric pediatric and primary care nurses and prefer that their sons and daughters be treated by these professionals when they have to go to health centers.
• This preference was demonstrated in the collection of more than 215,000 signatures in health centers in defense of the pediatric model in 2018 and in The demonstrations that have happened in recent years when some neighborhood or town has run out of pediatriciansa phenomenon that affects, to a greater or lesser extent, all autonomous communities and is increasingly common.

A healthcare model of excellence

• Not all countries have a model of pediatric care in primary care similar to Spanish, in the same way that not all countries have a universal health care system. However, In Europe there are more than 25,000 primary care pediatricians in 19 countriesaccording to the data of the European Confederation of Primary Care Pediatricians (ECPCP).
• In countries where attendance by the Primary Care Pediatrician is not guaranteed There are situations of lack of equity, something that could occur in Spain If the current model that has proven to be more effective and efficient for long -term child and adolescent health is not safeguarded.
• If the pediatric pediatric nurse of primary care are professionals whose intervention is more effective and families prefer them, having the guarantee of being attended by these specialists in the health center favors equal opportunities: When pediatric care in the first level of assistance does not

It is guaranteed, only families with more economic resources lead their sons and daughters to private consultations of primary care pediatricsand the children of families with less purchasing power have no access.

• Therefore, Not guaranteeing access to primary care pediatrics is a rights cut and would generate inequality among minors who can access pediatric assistance and those who do not.

The health of children and adolescents is of special importance: A good state of health in childhood directly affects a healthier adult life, with lower health costs and a better quality of life for all.

Therefore, Primary care pediatrics must be an unplazable priority for those responsible for the National Health System and a right for all children and adolescents. We demand that administrations guarantee equitable and universal access to pediatric care in health centers.