Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona has asked the Catalan Health Department to overturn a €6,000 fine linked to a severe baby abuse case, according to the hospital and the sanctioning decision.
The practical point for Barcelona readers is that the same decision also affects Sant Pau, Vall d’Hebron and CAP Roger de Flor, so paediatric and primary care staff in the city are following the appeal and the Generalitat record closely.
What Sant Joan de Déu says
According to Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, its care “adjusted in all moments to correct medical practice and current protocols”. The hospital also says resident doctors were properly supervised, and that the decision judges its clinical action on 7 March 2026 using information that was only known later. Readers can check the hospital’s own statement on its website: Sant Joan de Déu Hospital.
The hospital says the child’s symptoms that day were “very non-specific” and that the examination did not raise suspicion of mistreatment. The baby, born on 3 February, was six weeks old when the abuse protocol was eventually activated, and the child had already been seen at several centres before the case escalated.
What the Health Department says
According to the Catalan Health Department’s sanctioning decision, the institutions did not act quickly enough in a case involving physical and sexual abuse. The same decision also covers Sant Pau, Vall d’Hebron and CAP Roger de Flor. For the official record, readers can check the Generalitat’s health portal: Salut web.
The child had been seen at Hospital del Mar on 1 March, Sant Joan de Déu on 7 March, CAP Roger de Flor and Sant Pau on 10 March, and Sant Pau again on 16 March. Doctors at Sant Pau later detected a femur fracture and referred the baby to Vall d’Hebron Hospital, which is a reference centre for physical and sexual abuse cases.
What Barcelona families and staff should watch
According to the judge’s order cited in the case, the baby had a scrotal haematoma, a facial haematoma on the right cheek and an anal fissure. Those injuries were said to have been present during the 7 March visit to Sant Joan de Déu, when the baby was seen for irritability and tachycardia and discharged the same day.
Sant Joan de Déu says a possible diagnostic error does not automatically amount to an offence if staff followed the required medical standards, and Vall d’Hebron is also preparing an appeal, with a deadline in early July. Barcelona paediatric teams, CAP staff and child-protection workers can use the hospital statement and the Generalitat decision as the two primary documents while the appeal runs.
For updates, the most direct next step is to follow the hospital’s statement and the Generalitat’s health notices, especially if you work in paediatrics, primary care or child protection in Barcelona. Readers can also keep track of related local coverage through our Community tag page.
