A hospital that responds to weighty needs
Before the commissioning of this binational hospital in September 2014, French citizens living in the area in need of a hospital, had to go to the closest existing one located 100km away, in the city of Perpignan. This issue got greater during the high season as the needs significantly increase since the region of Cerdanya possesses over 12 ski stations, welcoming a large population of 30 000 permanent residents, and up to 150 000 residents during the touristic season of winter. The trauma department is then reinforced to face those periods of high influx of visitors.
From a laborious project to a relative success
The project of building a hospital welcoming both nationalities is far from being new, and dates back to the end of the 20th century ! Then, a long process of administrative procedures and negotiations followed at different scales. First regional between Perpignan and Catalunya, then national between the French and the Spanish Ministers of Health, and finally European with Interreg. This financial aid program has financed 65% of the hospital construction, relying on the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund). The hospital is financed with a 60-40 ratio, 60% being supported by Catalunya.
Besides administrative issues, some legal questions were raised. For instance, French babies are considered French citizens born abroad. The hospital does not have a big success from French patients. As a result, in 2016, only 1 patient out of 7 was French.
The nationality comes after the care
If patients do not insert their French social security card (or Spanish «health card») in the same slit, it is the only physical separation existing within the hospital infrastructure. The patients and the staff evolve in the same space. Although the majority of the population is bilingual, assistant translators are required and available. Even if it is not the first cooperation project aiming at a « Europeanization » of borders within the Schengen area, the hospital is unprecedented because of the geographical conditions of its construction, but especially the cosmopolitan feature of the place. It is the result of a true fusion of Spanish and French wills, and not a simple superposition of binational desires. It is in a spirit of enthusiasm that the hospital staff works. This successfully achieved project shows proof of the necessity of bilateral cooperation in Europe, a cooperation that improves the daily life of Europeans, with a sadly very little media coverage…
The development of bilateral dialogues proves to be an opportunity in a hegemonic multilateralist EU, beyond the political contingencies of its 27 Member States.
By Méline Vert and Nina Thevenet
To go further on our March file dedicated to the mountain, you can read our Culture and Society sections’ articles on our blog.
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