Not sure how Barcelona Cuida works, the services we offer or care-related matters? This section answers some frequently asked questions. If you can’t find what you’re looking for or you need further information, you can send us a query.
Questions about the service
You can phone us on 934 132 121, Monday to Friday, from 8.15 am to 2 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm. You can also visit our office in person without any prior appointment, between 10 am and 1.30 pm and from 3 pm to 6.30 pm; or you can send us your queries online by filling in this form.
Here at Barcelona Cuida, we can offer you information on where to find this equipment.
Yes, the service can provide you with any type of material or with guidance and information on where to find it.
Barcelona Cuida does not handle any procedures for accessing recognition of degree of dependence, but we can provide you with information on where you can carry out such procedures and what their requirements are. We also provide information on residences in Barcelona that are accredited by the Catalan government.
Barcelona Cuida does not handle any procedures for accessing a recognised degree of dependence, but we can provide you with information on where you can carry out such procedures and what their requirements are.
You can find information at the Catalan government’s Ministry of Work, Social Affairs and Families or in this website’s Services and Resources section, which contains links to the corresponding websites for each of the procedures relating to the Act on Dependence.
You can also contact your neighbourhood’s Social Services Centre or the City Council's Dependents' Assistance Services.
Benefits will be allocated once the degree of dependence has been recognised.
Through the ‘Agenda’ section of our website. Otherwise, you can call Barcelona Cuida and the technical team will be happy to inform you.
If so, email us at barcelona.cuida@bcn.cat and we will get in touch with you.
Questions about informal carers
Most people are, or have been, carers at some point in their lives. If care is provided by relatives or people in the person’s environment there are no specific requirements beyond this family link, although we recommend that you attend one of the courses for non-professional carers provided by government bodies as they can help you do this work better and more confidently.
The responsibility of caring for another person can lead to more or less continuous physical and emotional exhaustion. But there’s support available to help you cope. For further information, please call Espai Barcelona Cuida.
If you find yourself in this situation, you have the option of going to Espai Barcelona Cuida, and we’ll be happy to provide guidance on organisations and services that can offer support. You’ll also find information on the Search for services and resources section of this website.
In the city of Barcelona, you also have the Alzheimer's Board, made up of entities created to offer support and guidance to those affected by the disease and their families and friends. You’ll find more information here: https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/sanitatisalut/ca/canal/taula-de-lalzheimer
In Barcelona city there are organisations that specialise in specific diseases, and they can help by offering support and tools to assist carers.
The team at Barcelona Cuida are available by telephone to provide guidance on which organisations specialising in specific illnesses can offer support, and which specific training options could be useful for you given your personal situation.
We suggest you also consult the sick person/ dependant's family doctor.
You’ll also find information on the Search for services and resources section of this website by entering the name of the illness in question as a key word.
In order to provide the person you’re caring for with optimal care it's important for you as the carer to look after yourself as well, and to receive the support you need to help you do the job in the best possible way. Both the local authorities and various organisations have launched initiatives aimed at providing both emotional support and the training needed to allow you to attend to the needs of the person you’re caring for more safely and with greater confidence and practical knowledge. For further information on these initiatives, please call Espai Barcelona Cuida.
Domestic and care workers may work for a company or be self-employed. In the latter case, the person or family employs them directly.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to provide information and guide you through the different options.
You can also find this information through the services and resources search engine by entering the key word ‘SAD’.
More information
For contracting purposes, professional carers are classified as "domestic workers" and are included in the General Scheme of the Social Security system via the establishment of a special system. Workers will have the right to the same Social Security benefits under the same terms and conditions as the general scheme, with the singularities set out in the regulations.
Although the contract can be oral or written, we recommend that you put it in writing to ensure that the terms and conditions (such as working hours, duration, salary, etc.) are clear. Workers contracted for less than 60 hours per month can register with the Social Security system themselves (if so agreed with the person hiring them). If the contract is for more than 60 hours a month, the person hiring them is responsible for this registration and for any changes that may arise in the Social Security system. For more information, see the guide Cuidem qui ens cuida, és de justícia!
Full information is available at Espai Barcelona Cuida. We offer a dedicated legal advice service that’s free of charge, and is on hand to give advice to families wanting to employ a home carer. Call us for more information.
Several organisations in the city have created support or mutual help groups where carers can meet other people in similar situations and exchange experiences, support each other and build a contact and support network. If you’d like to receive further information, please call Espai Barcelona Cuida.
Please contact your relative’s local Social Services Centre or their usual doctor and explain the situation to them.
More information
Different resources are available that can help you to have more time for yourself:
There’s a service called "Respir" which provides residential care for people being cared for so that their carers can deal with the unexpected, or simply take a break. This is a service provided by the Barcelona Provincial Council, and it provides support for everyone in Barcelona Province. It can be accessed by making an application at Social Services centres.
Moreover, each year Barcelona City Council provides a financial aid programme called Respir Plus. This is a system of financial aid to improve quality of life for both carers and the elderly people who receive home care services, the aim being to provide support and respite for the main carer.
For more information, contact Espai Barcelona Cuida.
You should go to the social work centre of the hospital where the person you look after is admitted and ask for guidance about their expected needs and possible support services, from social and healthcare centres for short stays to coordination with municipal social services to access other types of resources should you be unable to continue providing the care they will require on your own.
If the person's situation has changed to the point where you are no longer able to attend to their needs (for example, if they need more care or supervision or they need help doing activities they used to be able to do and you are unable to provide this help on your own), you should contact your neighbourhood Social Services Centre to ask for guidance on the services or benefits that may be of help to you to care for the family member you look after.
If the person cared for needs support to do basic activities and their degree of dependency has not been certified, you should start the procedures for this certification. This will also make it easier to access care services and benefits.
Questions about domestic and care workers
People who provide care in exchange for payment are domestic workers or care workers.
They may be employed by a company or by an individual (a person or a family).
In any event, the workers’ rights set out in the sector’s regulations must be respected at all times.
Training may be regulated or unregulated. There is a wide variety of courses, seminars, university studies and training cycles of all kinds available.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to advise you and provide information on which kind of training is best for you.
Training allows us to update and broaden our knowledge, improve our skills and competencies, and make the most of new work opportunities.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to guide you if you would like to access training opportunities.
There are mechanisms through which you can validate some professional experience, even if it was obtained outside the European Union.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to advise you.
There are a lot of job vacancies at the moment and it is important to know the specific prerequisites and employment conditions of each of them.
At Barcelona Cuida, we can offer guidance regarding the route to take when looking for work and the entities that bring together domestic and care workers.
It is important to take care of yourself in order to be able to take care of others. There are organisations and teams of professionals in the city that work to keep the public and professionals in good emotional health.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to guide you should you require this support.
In Barcelona, there are various organisations that bring together domestic workers, provide them with support and defend their rights.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to guide you should you require this support.
Employment rights protection points are run by Barcelona Activa.
These resources, aimed at tackling job insecurity and defending rights, is open to anyone in any employment or administrative situation, wherever they live.
They provide advice regarding the infringement of employment rights, queries about rights and duties at work, the legal framework that protects workers, and much more.
The team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone should you require more information.
More information
Questions about childcare
Please contact their usual primary care centre (CAP) and make an appointment with the paediatrician to explain your concerns.
You can contact a child development and early care centre and the professionals there will advise you. Alternatively, you can contact your child’s usual primary care centre and make an appointment with the paediatrician to explain your concerns.
More information
As a child-friendly city, Barcelona has a wide range of services and spaces for children:
- Children's centres
- Family Space
- Public toy libraries
- Libraries
- “Patis oberts” [“Open Playgrounds”] programme
- Civic centres and other amenities:
- Children's play areas
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to advise you.
As a working mother or father you are entitled to a number of benefits when you have a baby. You are entitled to them whether you have had the child through pregnancy or through adoption or fostering.
Mothers and fathers are entitled to a period of rest and to a financial benefit that covers their salary during this period. This benefit is covered by the National Social Security Institute (INSS) and represents 100% of the person's salary.
- Since January 1, 2021, fathers (or the other parent, in the case of same-sex couples) have the right to 16 week of leave. The period can also be extended in cases of childbirth, adoption, multiple foster care, disability or hospitalization of the newborn.
In both cases, leave can be taken full time or part time.
For more information on benefits, the various types of leave of absence from work, the conditions for qualifying for them, the documents to be submitted and any other information, including any updates in this area, go to this website.
For more information on maternity and paternity benefit, go to this section of the Social Security website.
The pre-enrolment and enrolment process for infant and primary schools (from 3 to 12 years old) and secondary schools, which includes compulsory secondary education (from 12 to 16 years old) and post-compulsory education (baccalaureate and artistic or vocational training, from 16 years old) is regulated by the Generalitat de Catalunya, and in Barcelona it is managed by the Barcelona Education Consortium. On the website, you will find all the information on the process, from open days and information sessions for families to the requirements and score criteria for the allocation of places.
You can also find information there on how a school place can be obtained in Barcelona outside the pre-enrolment period. In such cases, applications for admission to the second year of infants-school education, primary-school and compulsory secondary-school education will be attended to bearing in mind the existing vacancies and with the aim of ensuring a balanced distribution of pupils in vulnerable situations among all schools in the same area.
You are entitled to request a leave of absence to look after your child provided they are under 12 years old. This also applies to foster children and to caring for other professionals.
You can find all the information on the Social Security website using the following route: Home / Workers / Benefits/Pensions for Workers / Family benefits / Non-economic benefit for caring for your child, a fostered minor or another family member, or in this link.
Questions about care resources
A personal assistant is a professional who offers support to care for people with a disability and in a situation of dependency so that they can carry out day-to-day activities and be included in the community.
The person being cared for is the one to decide which activities must be carried out, when, how and by whom.
The aim is to enable people to live independently in all areas of life: social and family relationships, parental duties, education, training, work, health, citizen participation, politics, culture, leisure, sport and entertainment activities, etc.
The Barcelona Personal Assistance Service provides people with a disability and in a situation of dependency with the support they need from a personal assistant so that they can carry out day-to-day activities and be included in the community.
More information
You can contact Barcelona City Council’s Personal Assistance Service. You can also call Barcelona Cuida to find out which non-profit organisations handle details of personal assistants.
You can contact Barcelona City Council’s Personal Assistance Service or call Barcelona Cuida to find out which non-profit organisations handle details of personal assistants.
Domestic and care work can be performed in two ways:
On the one hand, when an employment relationship is started between an individual, acting as employee, and a worker who, employed by the former, provides remunerated services in the area of the family home (Special System)
When it is a company that does the hiring, the employment relationship no longer comes under the Special System, as relationships entered into with legal persons – whether civil or commercial, even if their subject matter is the provision of domestic services or work – are governed by the common employment regulations (as would be the case with Temporary Employment Agencies (ETTs), when they make a temporary contract or with a cooperative, for example).
You can call Barcelona Cuida and its technical team will provide you with information and guidance on your various options.
There are plenty of housing and residential models and solutions available. The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to advise you.
There are a lot of care-related organisations in Barcelona that specialise in different areas: health, elderly people, feminisms, childhood and family, etc.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone if you would like to find out more.
Either in the BCN Guide by searching for "social services", "day centres for elderly people” or “services for people with disabilities or functional diversity”, or by searching for “accommodation” or “residential care” in the Services and Resources section of this website. Information is also available at the Barcelona Social Services Consortium.
Yes, the Barcelona Social Services Consortium has a map of homes and day centres which also shows the available places and the number of people on the waiting list. The waiting list for each home or day centre is available at this website.
Either in the BCN Guide by searching for "social services", "homes for elderly people" or "services for people with disabilities or functional diversity", or by searching for “daytime care” in the Services and Resources section of this website. Information is also available at the Barcelona Social Services Consortium.
An advanced directives document (DVA) contains the instructions that anyone who is ill wishes to be taken into account if they are unable to express themselves personally. The purpose of this document is to ensure that patients’ personal decisions are respected and to strengthen the security of professionals who follow those decisions.
Further information from: Canalsalut.gencat.cat and Barcelona City Council’s Dret a morir dignament [Right to die with dignity] leaflet.
Support from professionals in preparing the advanced directives document improves clinical practice and strengthens assistance relations. You can request information on this document from the city’s primary care centres.
What is more, the Barcelona Cuida space houses the Dret a Morir Dignament [Right to Die with Dignity] association, which offers face-to-face information on the rights of people who are ill and the advance directives document.
To access the personal assistance service publicly you will need to be a recipient of this benefit under the Act on Dependence and the PIA agreement made with a reference social worker.
Work is currently being carried out on implementing the decree to regulate the personal assistant profession in Catalonia, since the Act for Promoting Personal Independence and Assistance for Dependents has never set out specific training for this professional profile.
Barcelona has a Municipal Personal Assistance Service.
On the other hand, there are also several organisations that manage this service privately. You can call Barcelona Cuida for further information.
Questions about Covid-19
- 010 and 012 for general information
- 112 for health emergencies
- 061 for healthcare assistance in response to Covid-19 symptoms
You are advised only to follow the health-related recommendations and advice that come from official information services (for example, Barcelona Public Health Agency, “Barcelona des de casa” and the @bcn_ajuntament TW account, the Catalan Ministry of Health and its @salutcat TW account).
- Over 65s
- People with chronic illnesses (for example, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, cancer, immunodeficiencies, arterial hypertension, diabetes)
- Follow the basic recommendations on hygiene and self-protection
- Eat healthily and drink water regularly
- Sleep enough hours a day (ideally 8)
- Exercise every day
- Do activities that make you feel well (exercise, read, write, perform artistic activities, speak to loved ones, etc.)
- Try and keep to a routine with timetables
- Disconnect from the news from time to time
- Pop your head out of the window or go out on to the balcony or roof for a few minutes every day
- Maintain a positive attitude
- Talk about how you feel, with people you are close to, and make the most of technology to do that.
- Look for outside support when necessary (emotional, for instance).
- Follow all the recommendations from the section what do I need to do to look after myself?
- Try and keep a distance of between 1 and 2 metres from the person you are looking after.
- Keep to a minimum any contact between the person who is ill and/or dependent and the other people living in the house.
- Because of the lockdown, you are not allowed to receive visits.
- If you receive home care, you must provide the carer with masks and gloves.
- Keep to a minimum any contact between the person who is ill and/or dependent and household items and utensils: make sure the person you are looking after does not touch items or surfaces that other people have touched; use separate kitchen utensils and towels; keep your eye especially on handrails, remote controls and tablets.
- Keep to a minimum any contact between the person who is ill and/or dependent and the household's common spaces: ventilate the house's spaces before the person enters it; as far as possible, use different toilets, otherwise you are advised to clean your toilet after every use.
- Explain to the person the importance of staying at home for a period.
- Explain to the person the importance of washing their hands often with soap and water.
- Try and invent activities for whiling away the time and disconnecting together.
- Try and keep a positive, cheerful and peaceful attitude, to avoid creating a worrying atmosphere.
Yes, care work for minors, dependent adults and people with functional diversity is considered an essential service during the state of emergency.
The Further Education Consortium (CFC)
is offering an online course so that you can acquire the necessary care knowledge in the face of the current situation.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone to advise you.
More information
There are currently a lot of job vacancies and it is important to know the specific prerequisites and conditions of each of them.
At Barcelona Cuida, we can offer guidance regarding the route to take when looking for work and the entities that bring together domestic and care workers.
Yes, the Personal Assistance Service is considered essential.
More information
The current uncertain climate can easily affect people’s mental health. The most common emotions in this situation include fear or panic, loneliness, uncertainty, anger, sadness, boredom, anxiety or stress, among others.
Barcelona City Council and the Official Association of Psychologists of Catalonia (COPC) have agreed to give an additional boost to the telephone service provided to offer emotional support to the public. The number for the service is 649 756 713 and its operating hours are from 9 am to 8 pm, Monday to Sunday.
Many domestic and care workers, most of whom are women and many of whom work within the informal economy, have expressed a certain degree of unease in the current context due to some situations they have experienced relating to the personal care services they provide in homes.
A special emotional support telephone service has been activated for them on 900 505 805 with the password ‘DOMICILIO2020’.
The technical team at Barcelona Cuida is available by telephone should you require more information.
You can call social services centres.
More information
Primary care centres are home to a team of social work professionals. Please contact your CAP to arrange an appointment with one of these professionals and explain your situation and needs to them.
La Meva Salut (LMS) is a personal digital space, for enquiries and connections, that enables citizens to access their personal health information and other services to carry out procedures, make enquiries and, more generally, take care of their health.
It includes information generated by the health services received in any public medical centre, including current medication plan, vaccines administered, diagnoses, clinical reports and the results of tests and follow-up examinations. Centres publish this information so that patients can view and consult it through La Meva Salut.
You can request access to La Meva Salut without needing to go to a health centre.
More information
Yes, you can apply to get an individual health card.
More information
Yes, your family member must accompany you. You must always be accompanied by the same person, as long as the clinical situation allows this (for example, companions are not allowed in ICU).
You can contact the Public Assistance Service at the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities (IMPD):
- sap@bcn.cat / 934 132 775 (Monday–Friday, 10 am–1.30 pm) / 010
- Via Barcelona City Council’s online support platform
During hospitalisation, normally, family members cannot accompany you. But please contact the hospital in question and they will inform you.
Yes: each hospital has its own protocols in place. Healthcare workers will provide a solution that fulfils medical and safety criteria.