Health authorities and Metta Hospice sign agreement to accompany terminally ill patients.

The Community of Madrid, through the Regional Ministry of Health and the Madrid Health Service, and the Metta-Hospice Foundation have signed an agreement to improve the quality of life of patients admitted in end-of-life situations through volunteer companionship in public healthcare centers. The agreement, signed on July 10, 2026, was published in Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM) number 194, of August 15, 2026, in the announcements section of the Regional Ministry of Health (reference BOCM-20260815-11).

The text formalizes a common practice of volunteer collaboration with hospitals and is based on the principle of humanization of the healthcare organization, set forth in article 2.3.l) of Law 12/2001, of December 21, on Healthcare Organization of the Community of Madrid. The agreement is signed by the Regional Minister of Health, Fátima Matute Teresa; the Deputy Regional Minister of Health and General Director of the Madrid Health Service, Laura Gutiérrez Barreno; and the president of the Metta-Hospice Foundation, Vicente Arráez Jarque. The foundation, a private, independent, and nonprofit entity registered in the Register of Foundations under number 2223, will be responsible for training the volunteers.

A companionship of presence and active listening

The purpose of the agreement is to offer emotional support to patients and family members or close ones through physical presence and active listening, in order to reduce unwanted loneliness, anxiety, and suffering at the end of life. Volunteers may also accompany patients when their family members cannot remain with them continuously, allowing them to rest, run errands, or attend to their self-care.

The scope is specified, for now, in the centers of the Madrid Health Service listed in Annex I, headed by the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, and may be expanded or reduced at the will of the parties. Among the commitments assumed by the Foundation are:

• Providing quality initial training and ongoing training for volunteers throughout their work.
• Having in place an accident and civil liability insurance policy covering damages caused in the course of their activities.
• Providing each volunteer with a personal and non-transferable identification card and identifying clothing.
• Submitting to the monitoring committee, before May 15 of each year, an annual report of the activities carried out and their cost.
• Respecting the privacy, confidentiality, and decision of patients and family members to accept or decline the activities.

Four years of validity at no cost to the public treasury

The agreement is valid for four years from its conclusion — the signing by the last of the signatories on 10 July 2026 — and may be extended for periods that in total do not exceed another four years. Its implementation will not generate financial obligations for the Community of Madrid or for the Madrid Health Service: the Foundation provides the resources for the programs, with an estimated amount of 7,300 euros per hospital and year, VAT included.

For monitoring purposes, a joint committee is created with one representative from each party, chaired by the competent body for the humanization of healthcare of the Regional Ministry of Health. It shall be established within the first month after signing and shall hold regular meetings in December and in May of each year.

Legal guarantees and protection of patients

The activity of the volunteers complies with Law 1/2015, of 24 February, on Volunteering in the Community of Madrid, and is complementary to the work of healthcare professionals, whom it in no case replaces. The agreement also incorporates specific safeguards:

• Protection of minors: the Foundation must prove that its volunteers who deal with minor patients have no convictions for crimes against sexual freedom and sexual integrity, by means of a negative certificate from the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders and Trafficking in Human Beings, in accordance with Organic Law 8/2021.
• Data protection: the Madrid Health Service acts as data controller and the Metta-Hospice Foundation as data processor, under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Organic Law 3/2018, with a confidentiality commitment of indefinite duration.
• The agreement is of an administrative nature and is excluded from Law 9/2017, on Public Sector Contracts.

The agreement converts a collaboration that until now depended on the good will of the entities into a stable and regulated framework, and places end-of-life accompaniment as part of public healthcare. For patients and families, it means a support network that reduces loneliness and suffering in the final stage of life, with the possibility of extending it to more centers of the Madrid Health Service.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid, No. 194, 15 August 2026, Section I. Community of Madrid, D) Notices — Regional Ministry of Health, pp. 96-114 (official reference: BOCM-20260815-11).