Formed 1986-05-06 | Preceding Health service INSALUD Employees 83,132 professionals | |
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Parent Health service Andalusian Autonomous Government Website www.juntadeandalucia.es/servicioandaluzdesalud/ | ||
The Andalusian Health Service (Spanish: Servicio Andaluz de Salud, SAS), the government-run health system for the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, was created under Ley 8/1986 de 6 de mayo (Spanish law 8/1986, 6 May 1986), as an autonomous agency attached to the Council of Health (Consejería de Salud) of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, and belonging to the Andalusian Public Health System (Sistema Sanitario Público Andaluz, SSPA). Part of the Spanish National Health System (Sistema Nacional de Salud, SNS).
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As of 1 January 2007, the SAS employs 83,132 professionals, 20,810 of them in primary care and 62,322 in specialized care.
Decree 241/2004 establishes the basic organic structure of the Council of Health and the SAS. It is compose of the following directive centers:
Functions of the SAS
Article 13.3 of Decree 241/2004 of 18 May establishes the functions of the SAS:
Its functions are further delineated by:
Primary care
Ley 2/1998 establishes a primary health care system for Andalusia. This is the first level of access for the people of Andalusia to the SSPA. Among its characteristic elements is the availability of integrated health services including preventive, curative and rehabilitative care. It is also responsible for the promotion of health, for health-related education, and for monitoring the environment with respect to health.
As of 1 January 2007 there are 1,452 primary care centers in Andalusia, located so that all citizens can readily reach such a center by public transport.
The smallest geographical unit used in organizing primary care services are the districts known as zonas básicas de salud ("basic health zones"). Each zone includes one or more primary care centers, offering health care to the population. A level up from these are districts with the organizational structures to plan, direct, manage and administer these. Most recently (as of 2010) these have been enumerated by 197/2007.
Above and beyond these are Health Management Areas (Áreas de Gestión Sanitaria), established by separate legislation:
Specialized medicine
Specialty care is defined under Ley 2/1998 as the second level of care. Specialty care provides the technical and human capabilities appropriate to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for conditions that cannot be handled at the primary level.
In coordination with the primary level, hospitals and their specialty centers form the necessary structure to provide this care. Ésta suele ser programada y urgente, desarrollando además funciones de promoción de la salud, prevención de enfermedades, asistencia curativa y rehabilitación, así como docencia e investigación. This includes both scheduled and urgent care, and, like the primary care, encompasses health promotion, disease prevention, curative care and rehabilitation as well as teaching and research.
Hospitals and other centers
SAS manages and operates 29 hospitals throughout Andalusia. In addition they manage and operate numerous more specialized facilities: