Malaga needs more doctors to keep up fight against cancer

THE number of specialists in Malaga Province needs to increase by 25 per cent to keep up the fight against cancer over future years, the College of Doctors has announced.
There are currently just 41 oncologists in the province, 30 posted at public hospitals and another 11 at private clinics, yet according to a study by the Spanish Medical Oncology Society (SEOM) there should be at least 2.79 specialists per 100,000 inhabitants.
Jose Antonio Ortega, vice-president of the College of Doctors and head of Quiron Malaga Hospital’s oncology department, explained that with a population of 1,875,476 registered at the beginning of last year, 258,408 of them from abroad, the province ought to have at least 53 specialists.
The situation worsens in rural areas, Ortega explained, as there are 13 specialists posted at Carlos Haya hospital and 11 at the Clinico University hospital, both in Malaga City, six at Marbella’s Costa del Sol hospital and one in Ronda. Two main provincial hospitals, those in Antequera and Axarquia, do not have resident oncologists and have to count on weekly visits from doctors posted at Carlos Haya.
Between 7,000 and 8,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed per year in the province, and the aging of the population and faster diagnosis means this is likely to increase in coming years meaning extra specialists will be essential.