21/10/2016

The Terrassa Health Consortium is to become a UIC Barcelona university hospital

UIC Barcelona and the Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa (Terrassa Health Consortium or CST) have initiated the processes required to convert the latter into a university hospital. The strengthening of the ties between both institutions is a further step in the collaboration between both institutions that goes back to the start of this academic year with work placements for medical students among CST's various healthcare centres and the incorporation of some of their doctors into the University's teaching team. 

For the CST, which already has a long track record in offering specialist medical training, becoming a university implies a major qualitative leap, offering the opportunity to improve patient care through their healthcare professionals being involved in university teaching and the research possibilities that go with it. Additionally, it will provide motivation to healthcare professionals in their development and a stimulus for recruiting and retaining talented staff. For UIC Barcelona medical degree students, this represents an opportunity to learn from highly qualified professionals who are motivated by teaching.

The CST is a public body created in 1988 by the Catalan Government which provides teaching staff from amongst healthcare professionals at seven primary care centres, an acute general hospital, a social health hospital, a number of mental health outpatient facilities, a hospital for Alzheimer patients, the Healthcare Unit of the High Performance Centre at Sant Cugat and the Penitentiary Hospitalisation Unit. Around 2,000 healthcare professionals work for the CST, taking care of a population of over 200,000 people across the entire Vallés Occidental region.

The Universitat Internacional de Catalunya is a social initiative foundation established in 1997 with a marked international outlook. It teaches 13 degree courses, 7 doubles degrees and around 60 postgraduate programmes in two campuses located in Barcelona and Sant Cugat. Studies undertaken in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences feature a high practical content and the student has the chance to experience the health service system at first hand by being incorporated at an early stage into the approved health centres that have collaboration agreements in place: the Private Foundation Hospital Asil de Granollers (university hospital), the Althaia Foundation in Manresa (university hospital), the QuirónSalud General Hospital of Catalonia (university hospital) and the Quirón Hospital of Barcelona (associate hospital).