New in-patient mental health unit for minors at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron hospital

Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron, a major public hospital in the Catalan capital, officially unveiled this Friday its new in-patient mental health unit for minors that opened a few months.

In addition to the 8 in-patient beds, it also has 5 for outpatient care.

Some 40 people have already been treated there, with the average patient being a 15-year-old girl who is hospitalized for 10 days due to self-harm.

Doctors have noticed a significant uptick in self-harm over the past few years: if between 2015 and 2017 only 20% of hospitalized minors were affected by this harmful behavior, now 75% are, although other common issues that lead to hospitalization include anorexia, psychotic disorders, or depression. 

The unit will serve the 80,000 people of Barcelona's Nou Barris, Sant Andreu, and Horta Guinardó working-class districts.

Catalan health minister Manuel Balcells, who was present at the site's unveiling, explained that before it opened, minors requiring in-patient treatment for mental health disorders had to go to hospitals in neighboring cities. 

"These other units still exist, but now with this one, the waiting period has disappeared," he said. 

Complete with an immersive reality room and an area where patients are not contained, around 180 children and teens will be treated here annually.

Clàudia, a teen girl, described the site to the press as a place "you can always go to" when you're feeling anxious or unwell.

"It's always worked for me," she said.

The new mental-health unit for minors cost the Catalan public health system €1.6m.