Samuel Hernández: “Some treatments are used only in Fuerteventura, not across the rest of Spain”
The oncologist who, together with his team, has transformed Majorcan health care combines knowledge, innovation and heart in a service that today is a benchmark in the Canary Islands.
The year 2016 marked a turning point for health care in Fuerteventura. Massive street protests demanded a dignified public health system and the creation of an oncology bunker. At that time, Samuel Hernández was a young doctor who had just finished his oncology specialization at Hospital Doctor Negrín, hoping to continue his professional trajectory there.
However, without having chosen it voluntarily, he soon found himself heading the Oncology Service at the General Hospital of Fuerteventura. In an interview on the program La Voz de Fuerteventura on Radio Insular, he explained that he arrived on the island “with the idea of helping temporarily, but I encountered a situation that made me very sad. Someone had to do it, and it fell to me.”
When he reached the hospital, the picture was bleak. “It was a really hard year, I lived from Monday to Sunday in the hospital, mornings and evenings,” he recounts. Gradually, circuits began to open, new protocols were designed, and a day‑hospital was set up so patients could receive treatment without leaving the island.
Almost ten years later, that service has become a reference throughout the archipelago and, for the doctor, it feels like his “third child.”
Today the team consists of five stable, coordinated and committed oncologists, backed by nursing staff that Hernández describes as “wonderful, with a brutal commitment,” constantly adapting to changes and improvements.
The oncology bunker, long demanded by the community, has changed lives, he acknowledges. “It’s not just a machine; we’ve brought a complete radiotherapy oncology service. Before we couldn’t provide certain urgent treatments, now we can, and that can save lives.”
Radiotherapy Oncology Unit of the Hospital of Fuerteventura
A decade of work has produced a radical shift: the General Hospital of Fuerteventura now offers state‑of‑the‑art therapies, some of them pioneering at the national level.
“We have introduced a treatment that has only been applied in Fuerteventura and not in the rest of the national territory.”
“We even had to receive extra training from the laboratory that supplies the drug to face possible adverse effects properly.”
Humanising Medicine
Beyond knowledge and continuous innovation, what defines Samuel Hernández is his humanity. Several people on the program gave testimonies of gratitude, highlighting that the oncologist practices medicine “with knowledge and heart.”
Hernández himself recognises the mutual affection:
“We doctors share our pain and also our joy. There are times I think about leaving this profession because it’s hard, but then I think of them and keep going.”
When asked about the “de‑humanisation” of health care, his message leaves no doubt. He finds it paradoxical that hospitals need humanisation committees because “medicine cannot be understood without humanising. We are people before we are doctors.”
Empathy and listening are part of his daily practice, alongside research and innovation.
“Being a better person makes you a better doctor.”
For Hernández, a patient is more than a diagnosis, and cancer is not treated solely with medication. Nutrition, emotional support and physical exercise are equally important. Together with Jesús Medina, president of the association Fuerte Yoga, he promotes the Yoga Immune program, aimed at improving the well‑being and quality of life of oncology patients through physical activity and mindfulness.
“Prescribing physical exercise is fundamental. We are working on a program to offer it in a personalised way.”
A Network of Collaboration
The advances achieved underscore the need to keep demanding actions that improve public health. Hernández is critical of isolated approaches and calls for greater collaboration among Canary Islands’ hospitals.
“The patient does not belong to Samuel, nor to the Hospital of Fuerteventura; the patient belongs to the Canary Health Service.”
He stresses that the Canary Health Service must be more than a logo; it has to be a shared, collaborative effort.
He concludes by thanking his team:
“I have wonderful colleagues, doctors and nurses. They have tempted me many times to go elsewhere, but I stay here for them, for my family, and for the life project we have built in Fuerteventura.”