The new Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona, one of the most important and innovative centers specializing in children’s oncology at international level

Thanks to the efforts of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, the contribution of the founding donors and the Catalan, Spanish and international solidarity, the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona is now a reality.

This recently opened monographic center for children and adolescents with cancer and their families has 14,000 square meters and is connected to the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital by means of an elevated covered gallery. It is distributed over five floors, with 70% of the space for medical care and 30% for research. In total there are 37 single rooms, 8 transplant chambers, 26 boxes for the day hospital and 21 outpatient clinics.

In addition, it has a professional team of more than 150 people, which will make it possible to consolidate the model of research, assistance and care for childhood cancer at the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu. This model, developed by the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona for more than 15 years and unique in Europe, is based on the premise that the biology of childhood cancer and adult cancer is different and, therefore, the treatments for adults are not the same as those for children.

SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona has a Molecular Oncology Laboratory specialized in the genetic characterization of solid tumors, which allows us to offer patients a more personalized and appropriate treatment according to the genetic alterations of their tumor.

It is undeniable that the construction of the SJD Paediatric Cancer Center Barcelona is a major milestone, both for the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and for national and international paediatric oncology medicine.

It has been a matter of effort and perseverance that it has been possible to make this a reality. The Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona was founded in the 19th century and since then it has not stopped working for and with its patients. This hospital is currently one of the most important in Europe in the specialities of paediatric and maternal-fetal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology.

SJD is the hospital center in Spain where most children and young people are treated and the hospital of reference in its immediate geographical area. All of this means that women, children and adolescents with complex ailments from Catalonia, the rest of the country and abroad come to this hospital.

The team at the hospital is well aware of this. They know that dealing with children and their families requires patience, tenderness, empathy and understanding. They love their work and are guided by a vocation for service and improvement. This is the only way to carry out a task that is sometimes so complicated.

The desire to heal and care of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona has always wanted to go further. More humane facilities, closer service if possible, constant research and being better and better professionals, are just some examples.

Los profesionales del Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona creen en la colaboración y el trabajo en equipo. La escucha activa, la comunicación y la interacción a todos los niveles permite optimizar sus recursos y servicios. 

Es por ello, que, desde el Departamento de Innovación e Investigación, han apostado por involucrar a los profesionales del hospital en proyectos y equipos de innovación rompiendo, así, la jerarquía tradicional e involucrando a los pacientes y sus familias desde el primer momento. Han integrado a los pacientes y a sus familias en el diseño y seguimiento de nuevos proyectos y planes asistenciales, así como, en el training de trabajo en equipo realizado en la unidad de simulación.

Asimismo, han digitalizado sus servicios ofreciendo telemedicina en colaboración con Teladoc Health. Y además, desde el 2021, son el primer hospital de España que cuenta con un centro de control de última generación para regular el flujo de pacientes. Dicho centro de control, denominado Córtex, permite evaluar en tiempo real datos clave del funcionamiento del centro y decidir qué medidas adoptar para mejorar la gestión de recursos y camas. El sistema también incluye un sistema de monitoreo de pacientes (eCare) centrado, hasta ahora, en los pacientes ingresados en el Hospital con problemas cardiológicos, y un espacio de comunicación multicanal con las familias de los pacientes, llamado Contact Center.

Han creado junto con la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – UPC) la start-up biotecnológica Cebiotex. Son socios de la plataforma Ephion Health para desarrollar e implementar medidas clínicas para la movilidad del paciente. Participan en el proyecto Gazelab, que es un dispositivo médico de gafas, equipado con dos cámaras con visión infrarroja y un software de reconocimiento de imágenes y seguimiento ocular, que permite registrar los movimientos oculares con gran precisión. Y también coordinan el Hub de Innovación Pediátrica i4KIDS, cuyo reto es identificar y apoyar aquellos proyectos de innovación, dentro del ámbito de la pediatría y la maternidad, que destaquen por su capacidad de generar un cambio en la sociedad y en el cuidado de los niños.

Los resultados de este cambio de paradigma, tanto en su manera de funcionar como de entender la sanidad, se han hecho tangibles con la creación de cuatro nuevas empresas (3 spin-offs y 1 start-up), la aprobación de 36 de las 48 patentes solicitadas, 180 proyectos potenciales analizados en profundidad, 56 activos proyectos, 4 nuevos modelos de utilidad y 8 licencias.

In 2013 the International Management was created with the threefold objective of:

1) promote and position the hospital internationally.

2) to strengthen links with other hospitals at the international level

3) to offer services to patients from all over the world.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona has a team of forty professionals, of different nationalities or with knowledge of several languages. In addition to Spanish and Catalan, English, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and French can be heard in our corridors.

The pediatric specialties that are most in demand internationally, and for which the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona is a reference, are pediatric oncology, neurosciences (neurology and neurosurgery), fetal surgery, orthopedic surgery and ophthalmology.

The Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona was created on December 14, 1867 in Muntaner Street in Barcelona thanks to the Hospitaller Order San Juan de Dios, being then the first children’s hospital in Spain. It treated mainly children with tuberculosis and other congenital malformations of the locomotor system.

In 1881, the Hospital moved to land located between what is now Diagonal Avenue and Déu i Mata Street. It remained there for almost a century, until 1973, when the current hospital was inaugurated in Esplugues de Llobregat.

If you want to know more about Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona and its work as an international reference hospital , contact us!