Antonio Sanz, first vice-president of the Andalusian government and regional minister for the presidency, health and emergencies, announced that he would propose María de los Ángeles García Rescalvo as the new manager of the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) at the government meeting on Wednesday, July 22. García Rescalvo, who has managed Granada’s Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, is a doctor and specialist in anaesthesiology, resuscitation and pain therapy. Her experience includes clinical work, health-service management and leadership roles at the hospital, including deputy director of surgical planning and head of its major outpatient surgery unit.
Sanz also said he would propose Antonio Luis Cansino as director general for healthcare. Cansino has managed Marbella’s Costa del Sol Hospital since 2022 and previously led the Eastern Málaga-Axarquía and Southern Granada health management areas. He is a specialist in family and community medicine and has worked in clinical care and teaching.
The proposals include retaining Deputy Health and Consumer Affairs Minister Nicolás Navarro, as well as José Luis Sedeño as SAS director general for personnel, Amparo Simón as director general for economic management and services, and Ismael Vargas as director general for information and communications technology.
Sanz said the new team would oversee the modernisation and development of health policies. He identified a proposed new Law on Guarantees for the Andalusian Public Health System as a priority. The law is intended to address social and demographic changes, including an ageing population, chronic illness, mental health and digitalisation, and to improve service organisation, access, waiting times, care coordination, patients’ rights and working conditions for health professionals.
Other priorities outlined by Sanz include strengthening public health policy and establishing a permanent Public Health Emergencies Committee involving scientific societies, professional associations and experts. The committee would address pandemics, emerging diseases, climate change, food safety, water and air quality, and antimicrobial resistance. He also described plans for health and emergency education, wider use of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies, and the unification of health-service digital platforms.
Sanz said a health innovation hub would be created at Seville’s Muñoz Cariñanos Hospital to support collaboration among public authorities, universities, businesses, the pharmaceutical industry and researchers, and to develop and accelerate the adoption of technology, artificial intelligence and new medical devices.