The Joan XXIII hospitals in Tarragona and Arnau de Vilanova in Lleida will expand this spring the mechanical thrombectomy service to treat severe ischemic strokes for 12 hours a day, from Monday to Sunday. The measure is part of the Departament de Salut's plan to progressively extend a highly complex service that already has total coverage in Barcelona and Girona.
The Government's forecast is to complete this deployment in a staggered manner until the end of 2027. The expansion in Tarragona and Lleida will be carried out in two phases, with the aim of bringing treatment closer to patients in both demarcations and reducing dependence on reference hospitals outside their territory during part of the time slot.
Tarragona expands attention all days of the year
At Joan XXIII Hospital, the service is now provided from 8:00 to 20:00 hours on weekdays, with an annual coverage of 2,964 hours. Starting this month of April, the Tarragona center will offer it every day of the year in that same time slot, which will raise the coverage to 4,380 annual hours.
Outside current hours, Tarragona patients must be transferred to Bellvitge Hospital to receive this treatment. With the expansion planned for this spring, care will be guaranteed also during weekends and holidays within the daytime slot.
The reinforcement of the device in Joan XXIII will also include two more beds. The unit will have eight operational beds to treat strokes.
Lleida multiplies its coverage and maintains nighttime referrals
In Lleida, the Arnau de Vilanova Hospital currently provides coverage from 9:00 to 14:00 hours on working days. With the new deployment, it will start offering the service from 8:00 to 20:00 hours every day of the year.
That change will mean a notable leap in the availability of the treatment. Annual coverage will grow from 1,482 hours to 4,380 hours. During nighttime hours, patients will continue to be transferred to Hospital Universitari Vall d"Hebron, which has permanent on-call interventional neuroradiology.
The roadmap sets a second phase for Lleida in the third four-month period of 2027. At that time it is planned that the hospital will expand the in-person service to all hours of the day, until reaching 8,760 hours of annual coverage.
A technique of high complexity
"These agreements, which already enable the mechanical thrombectomy service currently offered in both territories, are essential due to the super-specialization that the technique requires" - Ministry of Health
"The extension of this service in the regions of Lleida and Tarragona responds to the commitment of the Department of Health with equity and quality of care and, at the same time, with the will to improve hospital care to guarantee greater accessibility for the population and capacity in the face of high complexity" - Government
Salut places this expansion within a territorial strategy to balance highly specialized healthcare resources. The final objective is that the complete coverage of the service be guaranteed by the end of 2027, with a model that already works integrally in Barcelona and Girona and that now takes a new step in Tarragona and Lleida.