Plans for a new general hospital in Castelldefels have been left out of the Generalitat budget, according to mayor Manu Reyes, who said the decision means residents will continue depending on the Hospital de Viladecans and the wider public health network in Baix Llobregat, the coastal comarca south of Barcelona.

Reyes, who is also a deputy for the Partido Popular, Spain's main centre-right opposition party at national level, announced the rejection on Thursday 3 July. The claim was first reported by Metrópoli Abierta and also carried by El Periódico. At the time of publication, the Generalitat had not issued a public statement explaining the exclusion.

"Rejecting this investment is condemning residents to continue enduring the saturation of the current healthcare system," Reyes said.

For Castelldefels residents, a municipality of roughly 70,000 people, the immediate effect is that there is no confirmed timetable, budget line or approved project for a new general hospital in the town.

Unanimous council backing for local healthcare demand

The demand for stronger hospital provision is not new. In December, the Castelldefels council approved unanimously a motion to defend the Hospital de Viladecans as the reference hospital for the area, according to the Ajuntament de Castelldefels, the town council.

That motion showed support across the chamber for maintaining and improving the hospital that serves Castelldefels and nearby municipalities. Reyes is now presenting the budget decision as a further setback in that long-running local campaign.

More than EUR200 million announced for Baix Llobregat

The dispute comes days after Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat, announced more than EUR200 million in measures for Baix Llobregat, according to earlier reporting by Metrópoli Abierta. Reyes argues that Castelldefels hospital provision has been excluded from that spending push.

No official Generalitat budget document provided in the verified material sets out a new general hospital for Castelldefels. The government has also not publicly detailed, in the material reviewed for this article, why the project was not included.

The wider pressure on Catalonia's hospital system has also been part of the political argument around the project. SATSE, the nursing union, said this week that more than 10,000 hospital beds would close during the summer across Catalonia, according to El Periódico.

  • Thursday 3 July: Reyes said the Generalitat had rejected the hospital request in the budget.
  • December council plenary: Castelldefels approved unanimously a motion backing Hospital de Viladecans as the area's reference hospital.
  • 21 June: more than EUR200 million in measures for Baix Llobregat were announced, without a confirmed new hospital for Castelldefels in the material reviewed.

Residents who want updates on the campaign can follow announcements through the Ajuntament de Castelldefels website, where council motions and local notices are published.

Primary sources: eurohealthobservatory.who.int. Reported by Source Text Link, El Periódico, Rubén Pacheco, castelldefels.org, Sílvia Marimon, D.B, iberian.property, P. C., Redacción brainsre, caixabank.com, CatalunyaPress.cat, catalannews.com, EHMA Team, Nieves Salinas, Gerard Mira, Bernat Coll, Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life.