We are a leading healthcare campus encompassing all fields of health: from healthcare and research to teaching and management.
Professionalism, commitment and research by professionals on the Campus are the key elements in offering patients excellent care.
We are committed to research as a tool to provide solutions to the daily challenges we face in the field of medical healthcare.
We generate, transform and transmit knowledge in all areas of the health sciences, helping to train the professionals of the future.
We are defined by our vocation for communication. We invite you to share everything that happens at Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, and our doors are always open.
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The Institute for Diagnostic Imaging uses the most advanced techniques, and contributes to generalising the application of this type of diagnostics to improve care and the quality of image-based explorations and diagnoses.
The Institute for Diagnostic Imaging (IDI) is a state-owned company that is affiliated with Catsalut, and has one of its centres at the Vall d'Hebron Hospital. IDI manages, administers and executes image diagnostic services and nuclear medicine services.
At our hospital, we conduct explorations using: magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, nuclear medicine, PET-CT, angiography, ultrasound, mammography, densitometry, conventional radiology, and orthopantomography, among others. This centre is also charged with helping with technological innovation projects, developing research and promoting teaching, thus contributing to scientific and social progress.
IDI and Vall d'Hebron are committed to innovation. In this context, we have PET-CT equipment that allows us to analyse molecular aspects of diseases such as cancer and neurological or cardiovascular disorders. This equipment, which can carry out between 4,000 and 5,000 tests a year, also offers the possibility of introducing new radiopharmaceuticals that improve the management of diseases with a specific molecular profile.
General Hospital
Traumatology Unit
Maternity and Children's Hospital
The mission of the Dermatology Department at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital is the diagnosis, treatment (medical and surgical) and prevention of diseases of the skin, subcutis, mucous membranes and annexes, as well as the symptoms of systemic diseases that affect the skin and systemic manifestations of skin diseases. The Department is a reference centre in complex dermatological problems that require specialised treatments.
Dermatology in Vall d'Hebron has three main areas of action:
The Department also has specialised clinics for psoriasis, cutaneous lymphomas, ampular epidermolysis, oral mucosal diseases and immuno-allergic dermatosis. We also offer diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
The Clinical and Molecular Genetics department consists of: the Clinical Genetics Consultation, the Rare Diseases Functional Unit and the Genetics Laboratory.
The Clinical and Molecular Genetics department is a reference centre in Catalonia in the diagnosis and care of patients with rare genetic diseases, and we are also responsible for significant research and teaching activity.
Our clinical genetic consultation offers comprehensive care for patients with genetic illnesses and their families, based on diagnosis, monitoring, management and genetic counselling.
Our main objective is to create a functional unit around a single diagnostic process, covering everything from the clinical point of view to diagnostic testing, for genetic diseases, taking into account their complexity and the need for comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment.
We have been officially classified as a member of the first Network of Clinical Expertise Units (XUEC) for the treatment of rare diseases in Catalonia, which is devoted to treating genetic cognitive/behavioural illnesses in children. Created by the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut). Thanks to this recognition, the Clinical Expertise Units (UEC) lead the way in diagnosing and caring for those affected by this type of disease in accordance with the criteria and requirements established by the rare diseases protocol in Catalonia.
Care for patients and relatives in the field of genetics includes four main activities:
More specifically, the clinical activity of the genetic consultation relating to diagnosis of genetic disorders is concentrated in a series of specific functional groups that include:
We pursue several lines of research that are part of Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) research groups. This includes the Genetic Medicine Research Group and our collaboration with other groups from Oncogenetics, Mitochondrial Diseases, Endocrinology and Paediatric Pneumology.
Our teaching activity covers undergraduates, postgraduates and continuing education of professionals interested in the field, including theoretical classes, academic placements on the unit, and supervision of final year and master's degree projects. Medical staff from our department participate actively in the following master's programmes:
We also organise seminars and courses for different groups, such as nursing professionals, consultants, residents and educators.
In collaboration with the FEDER (the Spanish Rare Diseases Federation), we have set up ourWorkshops for Patients with Rare Diseases: looking beyond the disease.
Our activity at the Tobacco cessation (quitting smoking) Clinic is aimed mainly at hospital staff who smoke and who want help in giving up smoking, but also at patients and external hospital staff who want to kick the habit.
At the Tobacco Cessation Clinic, part of the Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology Department at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, we have been providing care since 1990.
Our activity covers the following areas:
At the initial visit, we conduct a specific clinical history of the patient's tobacco use and start a series of supplementary investigations, which include: a tobacco dependency test, a motivational test and we gauge the mood of the smoker using a confidence scale. We also measure lung capacity with a spirometer and check blood pressure.
Next, we provide patients with information about the processes that can help them to quit smoking and the main reasons for quitting smoking. Finally, we draw up a joint plan for quitting, bearing in mind the level of nicotine dependency, and explain the pharmacological and non-pharmacological aids available.
At this point we schedule a control visit once a week during the first month. As of the second month, visits are monthly.
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If you want to stop smoking, you can visit:
At the Microbiology Department, we seek to maximise efficiency and sustainability to meet the needs of the public. We have a broad catalogue of services with state-of-the-art tools in clinical microbiology, in terms of both diagnosis and the monitoring of microorganisms in the population and the study of epidemic outbreaks.
The Microbiology Department works in two sections and across four transversal units: The Bacteriology and Mycology Section, the Virology Section, the Molecular Biology Unit, the Serology Unit, the International Health and Parasitology Unit and the Support and Innovation Unit.
We also respond to clinical problems in the field of infectious diseases, as we provide high-quality diagnosis and the necessary resources for research projects, which is one of our main objectives.
Our team is made up mainly of university professors committed to technological innovation, quality and safety. This places us at the forefront of diagnosis, and our laboratory is a leader both nationally and internationally in several areas:
In addition, the Microbiology Department has effectively implemented a quality management system in accordance with the requirements of UNE-EN ISO standard 9001-2008.
We aim to generate knowledge with our basic and applied research projects, as well as enhancing the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching of residents, and the continuous education of all our laboratory staff. We have a microbiology research group led by Dr Tomàs Pumarola dedicated to the study of microbial aspects involved in infectious diseases.
The Microbiology Teaching Unit is run by the Microbiology Department, with participation from the Paediatric, Intensive Care, Infectious Pathology and Primary Care Departments.
The Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology Department provides individual and collective care for patients in this field. It is a public health service whose mission it is to serve the hospital community and catchment area.
The Department, which was created in 1976, has led the way in Catalonia and Spain in the organisation of systems for the epidemiological supervision of nosocomial infections, which are contracted at the hospital during the patient’s stay. It has also been a pioneer in the supervision and prevention of biological risks in healthcare staff. It is also a national reference centre for vaccinations, and stands out for its Tobacco Cessation Unit.
The Clinical Laboratory Department receives up to 6,000 requests every day, more than 15,000 samples and processes up to 60,000 results. They are the largest laboratories in Spain and among the largest in Europe in terms of volume and complexity. They can boast the most innovative technology, allowing the response time to be improved. They have the most advanced diagnostic techniques and a catalogue that includes more than 1,000 tests.
Our Department is characterised by the extensive range of techniques we perform, along with our role as an important tertiary referral hospital. Our reference population covers some 1,200,000 inhabitants, a flow of 6,000 patients a day and more than 60,000 test results, adding up to more than 16,000,000 a year. We work with 15,000 to 18,000 samples a day.
At our Clinical Laboratories we have a catalogue of tests that includes a descriptive list of all the tests we perform (these can be scheduled or required on an emergency basis), the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) code, the unit price and the maximum response time. 30% of the catalogue is carried out in the Core Lab (an automated central laboratory) with fully automated tests and 70% is done in special areas with varying degrees of complexity.
The laboratories have been designed in accordance with the latest organisational trends. They span some 8,780 m2 in total, distributed across three adjacent buildings that are home to the Biochemistry, Haematology, Microbiology, Immunology, Pathological Anatomy, Genetics and Core Lab Departments.
The Core Lab works as a central laboratory, and the Clinical Laboratories are arranged around it. This means we are able to greatly improve work flows. The Core Lab includes all the departments, except Pathological Anatomy. Our system is based on creating working areas for samples, including the Automated Sections of Urine, Serum, Haematology and Haemostasis.
The Automated Urine Section is where these samples are processed, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and also where the automated selection for the urine culture is taken.
The Automated Serum Section has a system using high-capacity automated chains that mean we can perform biochemistry, immunochemistry and serology techniques rapidly, as well as handle urgent tests.
The Automated Haematology Section has two large-capacity processing chains, for both routine and emergency tests, as well as automatic formulas and classifiers for other techniques that are carried out using the same sample, such as glycosylated haemoglobin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), etc.
The Automated Haemostasis Section has a chain for routine processing, emergencies and special coagulation tests.
In accordance with current trends in laboratories, as part of our fusion project we have chosen an integrated model in a large laboratory located in the Hospital to help improve cooperation with clinicians. This centralised system of non-analytical areas has staff responsible for: Administration, Information Systems Unit, Preanalytics and Post-Analytics, relationships with primary care centres and the Hospital, which processes 15,000 samples a day. This central laboratory is highly automated and integrates biochemical work, haematology, immunology and serology.
Our Department promotes the generation of knowledge from a range of perspectives, with increased cooperation between services, the creation of transversal platforms to take advantage of technological resources and knowledge, optimisation of the use of information technologies and differentiation between production management and value added.
Our Laboratories are equipped with the most advanced robotics and information systems technology. In the Central Laboratory, cutting-edge automation technology has been implemented, allowing us to better manage samples throughout the process, offer faster processing and increase our capacity to 120,000 daily results. This achieves our twin objectives of improving response time and achieving better patient management. Tests take from 30 to 45 minutes. Tests for urgent patients are available in two hours and tests for critical units are available in three hours.
The extent to which we have incorporated robotics provides greater security and traceability of the samples, and has required significant investment. Unifying the activity of three laboratories into one large central laboratory means savings for taxpayers and allows us to take advantage of economies of scale, meaning we use growth for our benefit.
We give nutritional and diet support to hospitalised patients across all clinical departments at the Hospital, and carry out follow-up monitoring at outpatient care for those patients who need it. We also provide outpatient care for patients referred from other healthcare areas of the Hospital and primary care centres that require specialist nutritional and dietary support. Patients requiring nutritional support are treated at the Horta Primary Care Centre. We actively collaborate in educational programmes to detect nutritional problems and for home monitoring of enteral nutrition, that is, feeding via a tube.
As a transversal unit, we support the General, Maternity and Children’s and Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospitals, as well as the Primary Care Office in Sant Andreu; we also collaborate with a range of different medical and surgical specialties. We also participate in and direct a number of joint protocols with various other areas of the Hospital, and we maintain a very close working relationship with the Pharmacy Department, both in developing artificial nutrition and in selecting nutritional products. We act together with the Biochemistry Department in monitoring the nutrition of patients and in pursuing lines of research. We also provide support for the Pere Virgili Health Park.
We work to educate patients and family members, as well as providing courses for our staff through our continuing education programme, and we collaborate on continuing education in primary care. We organise training courses for primary care nursing staff, nursing staff from the Hospital and our orderly staff. We also educate patients and relatives about managing enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition, as well as nutrition in cases of nephrology and inflammatory bowel disease.
During a hospital stay, the nutrition support we provide might cover:
Once a patient has been discharged, we continue to monitor nutritional treatment through:
In short, we prepare diets for hospital patients, always taking into account menu alternatives, menus for treatment and diet changes depending on patient cycles. We work together with the Catering Unit to organise and prepare the hospital’s catering operation.
Finally, we also take care of preparing and distributing baby bottles, baby food and special liquid meals for healthcare units, as well as collecting and cleaning utensils.
Our teaching work includes:
The Medical Physics and Radiation Protection Department is made up of graduates in physics who have qualified as specialists in hospital radiophysics and senior technicians in radiotherapy and/or radiodiagnosis.
The Medical Physics and Radiation Protection Department has accreditation from the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council to carry out radiation protection tasks throughout the hospital. The department is firmly committed to quality and safety, and it has obtained ISO 9001:2015 certification.
The professional activity of the members of the department comprises three main aspects: clinical care, research and teaching.
Our department offers support for all the departments at the hospital that use ionising radiation for patient treatment or diagnosis, and also for the professionals who use radionuclides in their research.
The primary responsibility of members of this department is to ensure effective, risk-free management of radiation, in order to attain the best results in diagnosis or therapy in accordance with what had been prescribed for the patient. This includes protecting the patient, the staff and other people present, as well as the environment, from potential risks or excess radiation exposure.
In order to carry out this task, we establish suitable dosimetry and quality control, measure and characterise radiation, determine the dose administered, and define procedures to ensure good image quality. We also carry out quality assurance programmes and collaborate with other health professionals involved in optimising the balance between the benefit and the risk of using radiation.
Our Department was accredited as a teaching unit for specialisation in hospital radiophysics in 1995. Internationally, this specialisation is known as "medical physics" and involves the application of physics to the field of medicine. The title of specialist in hospital radiophysics is obtained after three years of training as a resident. The Medical Physics and Radiation Protection Department has three residents, one for each year of training.
The main objective of the Pharmacy Department is the safe and efficient use of medication with the utmost excellence. Our Department supports care activity and is recognised as a collaborating centre of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), thanks to our role in preventing medication errors.
Our Department offers a consolidated portfolio of services, and we have a pharmaceutical team that monitors all registered prescriptions and pharmaceutical treatments.
We are responsible for distributing, dispensing and preparing medications with automatised systems and robotics, with one of the most significant technological systems in Europe. We use a system of drug-use indicators based on case histories to assess use of medication. This helps us detect opportunities for improvement, both in terms of security and reducing variability in clinical practice, meaning avoiding differences in the way our staff prescribe treatments.
The Department enjoys ISO 9001-2008 certification, which specifically covers prevention of medication errors. We have established a quality policy aimed at satisfying the needs and expectations of patients, and providing the services that contribute to improving quality of care through personalised attention for effective, efficient and safe drug treatment, while improving our systems.
Our main objective is to ensure our Department continues to contribute value to patients, bearing in mind the conditions at any given time in the Hospital, the Catalan Health Institute and the Catalan Health System in general. For this reason, between 2009 and 2015 we followed a strategic plan that uses the Balanced Scorecard methodology. This strategic plan takes into account new scenarios, social changes and emerging trends, which all necessitated a thorough review of our methodology, in a spirit of critical creativity and continuous improvement.
Rapid evolution in concepts and technology has resulted in the Pharmacy Department receiving several awards and honourable mentions for our clinical innovation and excellence.
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