Barcelona City Council has launched four memory units at primary healthcare centres in Gràcia this September for people in the early stages of cognitive decline. Residents cannot book directly: each of the 15 places in a unit is available only through referral from their primary care team.

The weekly 90-minute sessions are due to run until June 2027. The council says the expansion brings the citywide network to nine units, with capacity for up to 165 people a year.

Units based at three Gràcia primary care centres

The services are managed by Fundación Uszheimer's specialist neurodegenerative-disease team. They are located at:

  • CAP Vallcarca, a primary healthcare centre in Vallcarca
  • CAP Vila de Gràcia-Cibeles, in Vila de Gràcia
  • Two units at CAP Larrard

Sessions will combine individual and group exercises adapted to each participant's needs. They cover memory, language, attention, orientation, calculation, perception and executive reasoning, according to the council.

“With these new units, the City Council takes a step forward and activates services to improve quality of life and promote the dignity and autonomy of people with cognitive decline,” Marta Villanueva, the councillor responsible for health, disability and the strategy against loneliness, said.

Part of Gràcia's dementia plan

Laia Bonet, Barcelona's first deputy mayor and councillor for Gràcia, said the service is intended to support people at an early stage of illness and delay its progression where possible.

The units form part of the district's Alzheimer and Other Dementias in Gràcia 2026–2030 plan. They also sit within Barcelona's 2025–2030 strategy on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, which the council has allocated €6 million.

Other memory units already operate at CAP Guineueta, CAP Turó, CAP Rio de Janeiro and CAP Ciutat Meridiana, as well as CAP CIS Cotxeres. The Cotxeres unit is coordinated by the Associació de Familiars de Persones amb Alzheimer de Barcelona, an association for relatives of people with Alzheimer’s disease in Barcelona.

Advice for families and carers

People seeking information about a diagnosis, support for carers or dementia services can use the Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias Information Point at Espai Barcelona Cuida, Carrer de Viladomat 127. No appointment is required on Wednesdays, with sessions alternating between 10:30 and 12:30 and 16:00 and 18:00.

Reported by Diari de la Discapacitat.