After just over two and a half years of work, the construction of the new building of the Nou hospital evangèlic (New Evangelical Hospital, Nhe) has finished in the Spanish city of Barcelona, and the institution plans to move into its new facilities in April.

This concludes the operation launched in July 2016, when the regional government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council agreed to move the hospital from the centre, where it has been located for most of its 145 years of history, to the 22@ neighbourhood in the Sant Martí district, with the aim of expanding social and healthcare coverage in that growing area of the city.

After the official purchase of the old building by the Barcelona city council in 2020, and the start of construction in 2021, the new facility is now ready to “seek the welfare of the city” .

“We think that in 50 years, from the start-up of the new hospital until the expiration of the concession, we will be able to rebuild the hospital's assets to continue the mission”, explained Nhe's manager, Reyes Gualda, to Spanish news website Protestante Digital in 2020.

Public recognition

The new Nhe building has been praised by the city's political authorities, as well as by the heads of other Barcelona hospitals.

For the 22@ neighbourhood district councillor, David Escudé, “this new hospital improves the quality of the health network here, with a clear vocation to offer a new integrated social and health care service for the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan area”.

“Thanks to the City Council's willingness to reach agreements to always improve the quality of life of its citizens and to urban and hospital milestones like this one, Barcelona wins”, he added.

The medical director of the Hospital del Mar (Sea Hospital), Victor Pérez, also points out that “with the moving of the Nhe, we will see the intermediate care highly reinforced at a key moment, when the progressive ageing of the population makes even more evident the need for care”.

The public hospital “continues to establish solid ties with the Nhe in order to benefit the healthcare fabric of the city. In particular, the district suffers from a lack of assistance, so the new facilities of the Nhe and the services to be set up are truly essential and welcome on our part”, he adds.

A unique building

With a surface area of 10,348 m², the new Nhe building, which costed 18 million euros, combines an innovative design with a vocation for healthcare focused on patient wellbeing.

With 198 beds and a capacity to accommodate 2,700 intermediate care patients per year, the facility also stands out for its sustainable design, rated with energy label "B" in energy consumption and "A" in emissions.

Each of the six floors has a gymnasium, therapy spaces and a recreation kitchen and bathroom to work on adaptation and rehabilitation on returning home.