The Clinic increases radiotherapy treatments by 50% in recent months

The hospital has three accelerators, two newly incorporated, and has gone from treating 80 patients to 120 each day. The installation of other equipment in Servet is pending, but it is necessary to adapt a bunker.  

The Clinical Hospital of Zaragoza has managed to increase radiotherapy treatments by 50% in recent months. With the launch of the new linear accelerator last June, there are now three machines in operation at the center and we have gone from irradiating 80 patients to 120 per day. The investment in the two new teams has exceeded eight million euros.

The new machines at the Clinical Hospital allow more precise treatments in less time, which has already translated into a shorter waiting list. If before, depending on pathologies, there were patients with delays of almost two months, now it is 15 days. "This is another example of the investment effort that has been made in health technology throughout the legislature," highlighted the manager of sector III, Ignacio Barrasa, who recalled that the Clinic has also acquired two MRIs, three high-end and an interventional radiology room and another hemodynamics room will be installed. "It will allow us to project a very hopeful future for the future of all patients," he added.

Aragón, at the moment, has five radiotherapy teams. The incorporation of another at the Miguel Servet hospital in Zaragoza is pending. Although the acquisition of the new machine was formalized at the end of 2018, work on adapting the bunker that will house it has not yet begun.

"We hope that the work on the bunker will begin before the end of the summer and by the end of the year we will be able to have the six accelerators," said the head of service of the Multihospital Radiation Oncology Unit of Aragon, Martín Tejedor, who trusted that The accelerator can come into operation during the first quarter of 2020. The current bunker is from the eighties and must be adapted to "modern times." "The armor must be reinforced and security measures must be increased," he assured. The works can last between four and five months, so the deadlines are very tight.

When the new Servet machine is installed and begins to operate, there will be six accelerators that the Community has. In total, according to forecasts, about 280 patients can be irradiated per day, when until now there were 190.

Regarding the possibility of renewing equipment, Tejedor recalled that with the new additions the expectations of the update plan will be met, but he recognized that the machines are getting older. "Some are more than ten years old and we have to think about renewing them. In fact, the head of the Multihospital Radiation Oncology Unit of Aragon has been in favor of putting a satellite center in Huesca. "Logroño has 290.000 inhabitants and has 3 accelerators. Huesca, with 220.000, has capacity. Teruel has an aging population and is at a distance," explained Tejedor, who has recognized that this decision is beyond the control of doctors and is a political issue.