Fresenius Helios makes significant contribution to combating COVID-19 crisis in Spain

Quirónsalud, the largest private hospital group in Spain and part of Fresenius Helios, is fully committed to supporting the national effort against COVID-19 with all available resources. Since the start of the crisis, Quirónsalud has worked in close and trustful cooperation with national and regional healthcare authorities to provide the best possible treatment to the greatest possible number of patients.

Quirónsalud’s network currently comprises about 400 ICU beds for adults in almost 50 hospitals across Spain. The company is undertaking significant efforts to further increase this number in the short term, while continuing to treat other patients who urgently need medical support such as for chemotherapy, giving birth, and other emergencies.

Despite the high number of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases entering Quirónsalud’s hospitals, the company has kept every hospital fully operational. This is to a large extent due to the outstanding commitment of Quirónsalud’s medical and nursing staff, who deserve the utmost recognition and gratitude. So far, Quirónsalud has also been able to secure sufficient quantities of medical materials for all its hospitals, despite rapidly rising demand for critical supplies.

In the course of the formal declaration of a ‘State of Alarm’, the Spanish government has temporarily obtained the right to direct all hospitals in the country, allowing the healthcare authorities to leverage all available resources to treat COVID-19 patients as effectively as possible. Such an option is embedded in the established crisis management plans of many other European countries as well. Quirónsalud fully supports this measure, as it allows centralized capacity management, and hence rapid responses to changing circumstances and a full dedication of the entire system to fight the coronavirus.

Rumors about a “nationalization” of Spain’s private hospital system are clearly wrong and without any basis. Quirónsalud continues to manage its hospitals, and is already operating the additional beds requested by the authorities, in the joint effort against the COVID-19 threat for the benefit of Spain and the broader society.