History
The Príncipe de Asturias hospital, part of the Alcala de Henares University, was opened in 1987 as part of the hospital network of the National Health System. It is the referral hospital for an area with a population of 250,000. It currently has around 507 beds and 39 different specialties. There are about 18200 admissions annually, more than 150,000 patients are treated by the emergency services, and more than 100,000 outpatients are seen.
Profile
Oncological patient care takes place in the Medical Oncology Service and in the Palliative Care and Symptom Control Units. The Oncology Department employs 7 Medical Oncologists and a number of nurses who are assigned to the clinical area while the Palliative Care Unit (PCU) employs 3 Palliative Medicine specialists, 1 Psycho-oncologist, 1 Social Worker and three specialized nurses. The Hospitalization unit has a total of 28 beds. The Nursing staff has a significant level of training specific to Oncology Nursing. The Oncology Department interacts with all the other services and units in the Principe de Asturias Hospital.
Specialities
The Medical Oncology Service is divided into clinical areas, each one
dedicated to particular tumour pathology. Each year, 10.000 consults are attended, 950 receive chemotherapy, while 600 new patients are added. There are 650 admissions per annum to the Medical Oncology Department. The hospital provides three types of Palliative Care services: Palliative Home Care Teams (PHCTs), Hospital Support Team Unit (HST) and Palliative Care Unit (PCU).
Palliative and Supportive Care
The PCU has a Hospital Support Team (HST) which acts as an internal
consultant between the different hospital services and has also a two palliative care beds located at the Oncology services for patients in advanced stages of disease presenting acute symptomatic problems. The Unit receives about 125 admissions annually, with an average stay of 6 days.
The Palliative Home Care Teams, which cover the entire population of the catchment area, have been operating for over 15 years. In total there are three physicians, three nurses, one nursing assistant and a one administrative staff. The mission of the PHCTs is to assist primary care physicians in monitoring patients who meet the established criteria for terminal illness.
Last update: August 2021
