Catalonia will expand in 2026 the mechanical thrombectomy service at the University Hospital Joan XXIII of Tarragona and at the University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova of Lleida with the aim of improving care for ischemic strokes and advancing towards full coverage throughout the day.
The Government foresees that both hospitals will operate with this service 24 hours a day during the last four-month period of 2027, which will mean reaching 8,760 annual hours of care in each territory.
Progressive deployment in Tarragona from April
In Tarragona, the expansion will begin from April and will extend progressively until covering all days of the week. Joan XXIII Hospital will go from 2,964 annual hours of care to 4,380 hours.
This expansion will allow to reduce the transfer of patients to other centers outside the currently available hours. While total coverage is not completed, during the nights cases will continue to be referred to the Bellvitge University Hospital, with which this expansion will be carried out in a coordinated manner.
Within this deployment, Tarragona will also expand its stroke unit to eight beds.
Lleida will activate the expansion in June
In Lleida, the new calendar will be activated in June. The Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital will leave behind the current time slot from 9:00 to 14:00 hours on working days and will start providing the service from 8:00 to 20:00 hours every day of the year.
In-person care in Lleida will triple, increasing from 1,482 to 4,380 annual hours. Until 24-hour coverage is completed, patients will continue to be referred to Hospital Universitari Vall d"Hebron at night, the center with which the expansion will be developed.
The Lleida hospital will also incorporate four more beds to its stroke unit.
Two phases to reach full coverage
The deployment will be done in two phases to guarantee the training of the professionals and the sustainability of the system. The forecast is that both Tarragona and Lleida will reach uninterrupted coverage in the last quarter of 2027.
Mechanical thrombectomy is a technique used to remove clots in cases of ischemic stroke. The expansion of the service seeks to shorten response times and strengthen specialized care in two areas that until now maintain part of their activity linked to reference hospitals outside available hours.