History

The idea

At the age of 32, Guillermo González Gilbey (1926-1987) was in a traffic accident that left him tetraplegic. After personally experiencing the lack of adequate medical and rehabilitative care in Spain, Guillermo travelled to England to receive treatment.

There, thanks to the techniques developed by Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, he proved that it was possible to achieve the degree of rehabilitation required to regain an active and successful life despite severe physical limitations. Upon returning to Barcelona, along with his friends he was the driving force behind the creation of a specialised hospital where other people with spinal cord injury could receive the same specialised care that he had received abroad.

Thanks to his efforts, Spain’s first hospital dedicated to the treatment and rehabilitation of people affected by spinal cord injury opened in Barcelona on 27th November 1965. Located in the La Sagrera neighbourhood, the new hospital was named the Institut Guttmann after Guillermo’s physician in England, Dr. Guttmann.

The inspiration

Sir Ludwig Guttmann (1899-1980) was a renowned German physician and surgeon who during the Second World War and in Stoke Mandeville, England, developed his method for the treatment of the person with spinal cord injury, from the initial stages to to their full social reintegration, with the aim of their patients being considered useful and respected members of society again despite their high degree of disability.

The medical contribution of Dr. Guttmann was decisive in changing the prognosis of these people. In addition, he incorporated sports activity into the rehabilitation process, appreciating it as therapy for its ability to improve functional autonomy, as well as for its psychological and socialization value. In 1952 Dr. Guttmann was the driving force behind the current Paralympic Games.

Imatge

First steps

Dr. Miquel Sarrias Domingo (1930-2002), a surgeon trained in Oxford and an apprentice of Dr. Guttmann, became director of the Institut Guttmann and remained there until he retired in 2000. He made an essential contribution to the establishment of our unique institutional culture, based on the rigorous care and compassion that is still alive in the hospital and in all its staff, and inspiring a unique care model.

Consolidation of a project

In the nineties, under the Presidency of Joan Echevarría Puig (1991-2009), an ambitious process of changes began thanks to the commitment and effort of a large group of young professionals, led at that time by Dr. Josep M. Ramírez Ribas, managing director of the foundation since 1990, the organization was pushed  to the levels of excellence and international recognition it enjoys today.

In 1999, the University Institute of Neurorehabilitation attached to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona was established, from where a fruitful research and teaching work is carried out.

In 2002, thanks to the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the ONCE Foundation, all activity was moved to the current hospital in the city of Badalona, next to the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital. With more than 17,000 m², modern facilities and a large team of professionals, it becomes the international reference hospital it is today.

In 2005 we obtained the Joint Commission International accreditation and since 2013 we have been National Reference Center for comprehensive care for complex spinal cord injury in Spain -CSUR-.

In 2019, the "Guttmann Barcelona" center was inaugurated n the grounds of the old hospital in the La Sagrera neighbourhood. This is a space which is home to the Brain Health and Neurorehabilitation Institute from where the organisation can now treat new neurological pathologies, and to the adapted serviced apartments Guttmann Barcelona Life which promote independent living for people with disabilities.

Looking at the future

From March 2022, the executive direction of the Foundation is exercised by two Co-Directors, Mrs. Montse Caldés and Dr. Montserrat Bernabeu, the first case of female co-management in our country, with which our organization maintains a firm gaze towards the future with the commitment to remain an organization of excellence, committed to people with disabilities and health in general , promoter of research and teaching in this neuroscientific field and promoter of social innovation to achieve, among all, a fairer, more inclusive and fraternal society.

Finally, we quote below the people who have presided over the Foundation since its establishment:

• Guillermo González Gilbey: January 1962 to July 1987
• Luis Gil de Biedma Alba: July 1987 to March 1990
• Salvador Sanz de Acedo Esparza: March 1990 to November 1991
• Joan Echevarría Puig: November 1991 to December 2009
• Francesc Homs Ferret: December 2009 to June 2021
• Antoni Esteve Cruella: From June 2021