The Hermanas Hospitalarias Sant Boi Foundation will manage the Sant Lluís Mental Health Centre in La Seu d'Urgell, which will open in early 2027 with 63 initial beds and a total capacity of 97 places.
The Hermanas Hospitalarias Sant Boi Foundation has been designated as the managing entity of the new Sant Lluís Mental Health Centre in La Seu d'Urgell, a facility that will begin operations in early 2027. The centre, which is being built on the former premises of the Diocesan Seminary of Urgell, will occupy about 6,000 square metres and will have a ground floor and three floors in its first phase.
A project with a Sant Boi stamp in the Pyrenees
The Hermanas Hospitalarias Foundation, based in Sant Boi de Llobregat, is one of the reference entities in mental health in Catalonia. Its manager, Joan Orrit, explained during a visit to the construction site that the goal is to provide the Pyrenean regions and Andorra with new resources to care for people with mental health conditions and also support their families. The centre will offer medium and long-term hospitalisation, a day hospital for adults, a day hospital for children and adolescents, an open residential home, and a multidisciplinary and multipurpose space.
The first phase of the centre will have 63 beds, while once the project is completed, the total capacity will be 97 places. Of these, 44 places will be contracted with the Principality of Andorra. The launch of the first phase will create between 70 and 75 direct and indirect jobs, good news for the Alt Urgell region.
A centre to avoid travel
The Minister of Justice and Democratic Quality, Ramon Espadaler, visited the construction site accompanied by the Bishop of Urgell, Josep-Lluís Serrano, and the mayor of La Seu d'Urgell, Joan Barrera. Espadaler highlighted that the new centre will provide a “quality and proximity” service in the Pyrenees and will avoid travel for patients and families, who until now had to travel to mental health centres located in cities like Lleida or Barcelona. “This project will dignify mental health in the Pyrenees, an issue that has not been resolved until now,” said Mayor Barrera.
The centre will also incorporate the Ágora space, a functional recovery unit open to the community where users can receive therapeutic support without prior appointment. This care model, inspired by experiences of the Hermanas Hospitalarias Foundation in other centres, aims to facilitate access to mental health in an agile manner and without bureaucratic barriers.
Institutional cooperation and research work
Minister Espadaler emphasised that cooperation between the Urgell Diocese and the Government will be key to the proper functioning of the centre. Additionally, he noted that the facility will generate jobs and have activities linked to research, an area in which the Hermanas Hospitalarias Sant Boi Foundation already has a long history with its mental health research centre.
For residents of the province of Barcelona, the new centre represents another alternative for referrals to mental health in the Pyrenees, although the distance from Sant Boi is considerable. However, the news reinforces the role of the Sant Boi foundation as a reference in the management of mental health services throughout Catalonia. The centre in La Seu d'Urgell will be the first major mental health facility in the Pyrenees, addressing a historical need in the region.
Construction is progressing according to schedule, and the centre aims to begin operations in early 2027. The building's structure is designed to favour natural light, the versatility of spaces, and the therapeutic process of patients, a design that the Hermanas Hospitalarias Foundation has successfully applied in its centres in Sant Boi and other locations in Catalonia.
With this project, the Hermanas Hospitalarias Sant Boi Foundation expands its presence in the Catalan territory, bringing its care model to an area that has so far lacked sufficient mental health resources. Cooperation with the Urgell Diocese and the Generalitat Government has been essential to make this facility a reality, which will serve people from Catalonia and Andorra.
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