Catalonia Overhauls Healthcare with 30 New Integrated Health Areas

Catalonia's health department unveiled a major overhaul of its healthcare system on Wednesday, creating 30 Integrated Health Areas (AIS) to replace the existing 43 management areas, which date back 18 years. The restructuring aims to place primary care at the centre while addressing challenges like population ageing, rising chronic diseases, and staff shortages to ensure the model's sustainability.

Aina Plaza, the director general of Health Planning, said the new areas were designed using demographic, social, and mobility criteria. They will strengthen collaboration between hospitals, home care, and community mental health services. Pilot tests are set to launch in March and run for a year to evaluate integrated care models.

Junts per Catalunya MP Jordi Fàbrega, the party's spokesperson on the Catalan parliament's Health Committee, welcomed the review as timely but called it a missed opportunity. He argued the AIS should have incorporated social resources, such as residential care facilities, and involved the pharmacy sector more deeply to shift focus from treating illness to promoting health.

Despite giving the system a vote of confidence to see how it performs, Fàbrega expressed concern over some area divisions. Representing Lleida, the Alt Pirineu, and Aran, he questioned the mobility rationale for grouping Alta Ribagorça with the two Pallars areas. He also raised doubts about the split in the Garrotxa region, which separates Ripollès from Camprodon and Garrotxa. "We'll see how it impacts Campdevànol Hospital," he said, noting assurances of no effect but warning that a potential 3% drop in users could still have consequences.