Dr. José Cano will be the new manager of the Torrevieja health department. He has replaced Pilar Santos, the manager since October 2021 when Ribera Salud lost the private contract, handing control over to Public Health.
Cano had previously been the director of the public health centre for the departments of Torrevieja and Orihuela, a post he had held since September 2003.
The new boss has a degree in medicine and surgery from the Faculty of Medicine of Murcia (1982), a doctorate in Medicine and Surgery from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, he is a specialist in Family and Community Medicine, and he has a master’s degree in Health Economics and Management of Sanitary Services from the University of Alicante.
One of Cano’s strengths is that he has served as head of public health under governments of different colours, particularly during the pandemic during which Vega Baja healthcare faced many different demands.
The main aim of the new manager will be to consolidate the incorporation of the health Authority into the Valencian public network and to continue reinforcing the resources to provide members of the public with the best standards in terms of personnel, assistance, health technology and quality of service.
The departure of Pilar Santos is broadly welcomed after harsh criticism of her management by unions, political parties, especially the PP, and the Excellent Health platforms, which still demands the return of the Ribera management, and the 100×100 Public Health Platform, which demands more investment from the Generalitat.
He will also be expected to halt the departure of essential staff after a long string of resignations from people in the management team, in addition to those that have occurred in the Emergency Department, and of Primary Care.
During the 12 months following the departure of Ribera Salud, the private concessionaire, the health authority’s staff has fallen from 1,889 to 1,212 workers, however, in recent weeks services such as psychiatry, oncology, traumatology, nephrology, pediatrics, pathological anatomy, neurophysiology, social work, and pharmacy have all been reinforced, in addition to primary care, together with the addition of a state-of-the-art CT scan valued at 470,000 euros.
The photo shows Dr. José Cano meeting on Monday with the mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolon, and the Torrevieja councillor for health, Diana Box.
