The President took part in the ceremony in recognition of the Government’s work in the Neonatal Screening Programme, during which the film ‘Life in a Drop’ by Pedro Lendínez was screened.

The Balearic Islands are one of the autonomous communities in which a greater number of pathologies are screened after extending the neonatal screening portfolio from 7 to 40 endocrinometabolic diseases.

The President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Margalida Prohens, has celebrated the fact that the Balearic Islands are one of the leading autonomous communities in neonatal screening. She stated this at a ceremony held at Son Espases in recognition of the work carried out by professionals in the Neonatal Screening Programme. During the event, the film Life in a Drop was screened. Also taking part were the Regional Minister of Health, Manuela García; the Director General of IBSALUT, Javier Ureña; the Director General of Public Health, Antonia Elena Esteban; the Managing Director of Son Espases, Cristina Granados, and the President of the Asociación de Enfermedades Raras Más Visibles and director of the documentary screened, Pedro Lendínez.

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Prohens celebrates the fact that the Balearic Islands is a leader in neonatal screening

Prohens stressed that ‘the postcode of birth cannot determine a person’s future, it cannot be so decisive in something as important as the health of our children’.

Last November, the Government of the Balearic Islands authorised a new decree to expand the neonatal screening portfolio from 7 to 40 endocrinometabolic diseases. ‘We have gone from being one of the autonomous communities at the bottom in neonatal screening, where fewer diseases were detected in this test, to positioning the Balearic Islands as a leader in carrying out greater screening for rare diseases among children,’ he said.

The aim is the early detection of these diseases, their diagnosis and early treatment.

As a token of recognition for their work in the Balearic Islands Neonatal Screening Programme, the president and the councillor presented a gift to several professionals:

• Doctor Gerardo Pérez, a specialist in clinical analysis at Son Dureta and Son Espases. From 2005 he worked in the confirmation of the diagnosis of the heel prick test and, from 2007, in the Screening Programme. She retired in February 2023.
• Dr. Magdalena Vila, who joined the Clinical Analysis Laboratory at Son Dureta in 1994 and the Neonatology Section created for screening in 2005, and who retired in September 2017.
• Dr. Maria Caimari, paediatric endocrinologist at Son Dureta and Son Espases since 1991. She retired on 29 November 2024.

• Dr. Antònia Barceló and Dr. Vila created the neonatology laboratory at Son Dureta in 2005 to carry out heel prick tests. She is currently the scientific director of the Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa).
• Dr. Celia Personat, head of section of the Disease Prevention Service of the Directorate General of Public Health, a department she joined in 2020. She is the person who drafted the decree to increase the number of diseases from 7 to 40.
• Dr. Mª Ángeles Ruiz, neuropaediatrician at Son Espases, retiring in November 2023. In 2005 she created the metabolic diseases unit in the Paediatrics Service of Son Dureta and Son Espases.

‘I would like to thank the professionals we have recognised today, but who represent all those who have left an indelible mark on the public health of our islands, who, with their effort and dedication, have made it possible for neonatal screening in our community to be a benchmark, not only nationally, but also internationally,’ said Prohens.

During the ceremony, the councillor also said a few words of recognition for all the professionals who have made this test possible in the Balearic Islands and those who implemented it in the Balearic health system.

Also present at the event was Judit Ruiz Peiró, the film’s protagonist, to whom the president also dedicated words of thanks: ‘Thank you for your generosity in telling your story and for your spirit of protest to achieve improvements and advances in our health system’.

To conclude, the President stated that the Government of the Balearic Islands continues to work to be at the forefront in detecting and treating diseases, and is committed to making science, research and innovation one of the flags and hallmarks of the Balearic Islands.