Barcelona social groups say 259 families who came to the city for medical treatment had no accommodation in 2025, a rise of 40% on the previous year. The families were travelling to Barcelona for care at reference hospitals.

The shortage means some companions end up sleeping in hospital waiting rooms or in cars. At a press conference on Thursday, 21 May, at the Hub Social de Barcelona, the organisations said the extra cost is often too much for families already dealing with hospital admissions and discharges.

In 2024, 185 families faced the same problem. The network supporting them also grew in 2025, from seven organisations to ten. It includes Fundació Hospitalitat Mare de Déu de Lourdes, Fundació Jubert Figueras and Fundació Josep Carreras contra la Leucèmia, along with Fundació Inés Arnaiz, Fundació d’Oncologia Infantil Enriqueta Villavecchia, Associació Catalana del Fetge, AFANOC, Casa Ronald McDonald, Fundació Xana and Fundació Privada Petit Món.

The groups say they currently manage 55 accommodations and 156 rooms across the Barcelona metropolitan area. They mainly support patients treated at Vall d’Hebron, Clínic and Sant Pau. In total, they assisted 1,072 families in 2025, with 670 adults and 402 children. Around 60% came from other Catalan provinces, while the rest came from elsewhere in Spain, with 2% from abroad.

The organisations say they housed 907 families using their own resources and referred others to hotel chains through agreements. They recorded 86,685 overnight stays and estimate that families saved 7,235,200 euros, based on an average nightly rate of 190 euros in 2025. Carolina Oliva, a social worker at the Institut Català d’Oncologia, said requests for accommodation will grow sharply in the coming years as treatment options expand.

The groups are asking public authorities for more social housing and for empty properties in Barcelona to be used for this purpose. They pointed to France as an example, where public housing near hospitals is used for displaced families. Barcelona’s housing plan aims to build 1,500 more social flats by 2037 as part of the ESAL agreement. Pere Puig of the Associació Catalana del Fetge said Barcelona wants to be a first-class health hub, but that also means giving companions a dignified place to stay.

For more Barcelona housing coverage, see our Community and Sport pages.