Sant Joan de Déu – Barcelona Hospital

SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona, the first monographic paediatric oncology centre in Spain and only the second in Europe

The Hospital Sant Joan de Déu of Barcelona provides comprehensive care for vulnerable people. With Invest for children’s commitment to donate €3 million, the hospital launched a major project to create the largest paediatric oncology centre in Spain and one of the largest in Europe.

The centre opened in June 2022 and is almost fully operational.

The average occupancy rate has been more than 70% on the ward and around five patients are treated each day via the SJD home care programme for oncology patients. For outpatients, there are 21 consultations rooms and 26 day hospital cubicles. In the first three months of 2023, an average of 27 treatment sessions and 40 analyses were performed each day in the day hospital area, which is open seven days a week. This is a similar volume to before the centre opened, however the new day hospital has freed up space previously allocated in the hospitalisation building, which can now provide more flexible treatment for other specialities including nephrology, allergy tests and immunology treatments. The surgical block has two high-tech operating theatres with six procedures performed on average every day in the outpatient operating theatre.

In early 2023, it was possible to open a second operating theatre, which can perform complex oncological surgeries planned in 3D. The SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona also has a specific rehabilitation area, with materials adapted to patients’ care needs, making it possible not only to attend to more children and adolescents at the same time, but also to absorb inpatient and outpatient care in the same place, where children can be treated specifically by pathology and age groups. Since opening, six of the eight chambers of the Haematopoietic Progenitor Transplant Unit have been used to respond to transplant patients.

The Nuclear Medicine floor, operational from early 2023, has several units for diagnostic tests and two rooms for radionuclide treatments. This will prevent some patients from having to travel abroad, for certain tests and treatment. Work is currently underway to complete the opening of the new paediatric oncology laboratories, which will combine patient care and research activities.