For UK patients facing long NHS waiting lists for orthopaedic treatment, HM Nou Delfos in Barcelona offers consultant-led surgery in one of Spain’s leading private hospitals. From hip and knee replacements to shoulder surgery, spinal procedures and ACL repair, the hospital combines specialist surgical expertise with advanced diagnostics, modern operating theatres and international patient support. This week’s Saturday Spotlight explores why HM Nou Delfos is an important option for British patients seeking faster access to treatment in Europe.
This week’s Saturday Spotlight takes us to Barcelona and HM Nou Delfos, part of HM Hospitales and one of My Medical Gateway’s Accredited Healthcare Providers.
For an MMG patient, HM Nou Delfos offers something particularly important when considering surgery abroad: this is not a small clinic specialising in a narrow range of procedures. It is a substantial general medical and surgical hospital, with the infrastructure required to diagnose, operate, provide intensive care and manage recovery within the same institution.
Located in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, HM Nou Delfos occupies 24,000 square metres and has 149 patient rooms, including nine suites. It provides 60 outpatient consulting rooms and more than 40 medical specialties. Its surgical block contains 11 operating theatres, while its intensive care unit has 12 beds, including negative-pressure facilities.
That scale is one reason HM Nou Delfos is an important addition to MMG’s European hospital network.
A hospital built around complex surgery
HM Hospitales entered Barcelona through the acquisition of the historic Delfos hospital in 2018 and subsequently undertook a major modernisation programme.
A central part of that investment was a new surgical block comprising 11 operating theatres designed to accommodate procedures extending to neurosurgery, cardiac, thoracic and oncological surgery.
Today, orthopaedics and traumatology are among the hospital’s major specialties — particularly relevant to British patients facing lengthy waits for treatment of musculoskeletal conditions.
The hospital’s orthopaedic service covers diseases and injuries affecting bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints, as well as prosthetic replacement and revision procedures. HM Nou Delfos says its model brings together surgeons with specific training across individual orthopaedic subspecialties rather than treating orthopaedics as a single general discipline.
This matters because the objective for an MMG patient is not simply to find a hospital that performs a particular operation. It is to access an appropriately experienced clinical team supported by the diagnostics, surgical infrastructure and post-operative facilities required for the complete episode of care.
Technology at the centre of treatment
One of HM Nou Delfos’s distinguishing characteristics is the level of investment in medical technology.
Its diagnostic facilities include 3-Tesla MRI, advanced CT, PET-CT and 3D tomosynthesis. HM Hospitales says some of its newer diagnostic technology can reduce radiation exposure by as much as 50 per cent compared with conventional equipment while producing high-resolution imaging.
The hospital also has the EOS vertical imaging system, which is particularly relevant to orthopaedics because it can produce rapid weight-bearing images of the musculoskeletal system with substantially reduced radiation exposure. HM Hospitales reports radiation reductions of up to 85 per cent with the technology.
The investment extends into the operating theatre.
In 2024, HM Nou Delfos introduced the latest-generation Da Vinci robotic surgical system. It provides surgeons with three-dimensional visualisation and robotic instrumentation designed to increase precision and control during suitable procedures. The system can be used across specialties including urology, general surgery and gynaecology.
By September 2025, the hospital reported completing more than 90 procedures using the system during its first year of operation. HM Hospitales said its experience was showing fewer post-operative complications and shorter hospital stays in appropriate cases.
Its neuroscience facilities are similarly sophisticated, including an integrated operating theatre with mobile intraoperative CT, neuronavigation and monitoring capable of providing information during surgery about how a patient is responding to surgical intervention.
Built to receive international patients
Technology and surgical expertise are only part of the equation for somebody travelling abroad for healthcare. MMG patients also need to know what happens when they arrive.
HM Hospitales operates a dedicated MMG patient service covering at its Barcelona hospital. HM Nou Delfos has also been admitted to Barcelona Medical Destination, the programme established to promote Barcelona internationally as a destination for medical treatment. Participating centres are selected around criteria including medical expertise and access to advanced technology.
For British patients who may understandably be apprehensive about treatment overseas, these international-patient systems matter. The medical procedure itself may occupy only a few hours; the patient experience begins at the time of booking and continues through recovery.
Barcelona as a healthcare destination
There is also the destination itself. Barcelona is one of Europe’s best-connected cities and is already an established international medical destination. For UK patients, its accessibility makes the practicalities of travelling for elective treatment considerably less daunting than many more distant medical-tourism destinations.
That fits closely with the MMG model. MMG exists to give British patients another choice when they face a long NHS wait but find the cost of UK private treatment prohibitive. Through the platform, patients can compare treatment options and fixed-price Treatment Packages at accredited European healthcare providers before deciding whether treatment abroad is right for them.
HM Nou Delfos demonstrates the kind of hospital MMG wants British patients to discover: substantial, technologically advanced, experienced in treating international patients and located within easy reach of the UK.
For somebody considering travelling to Europe for surgery, the question should never simply be: “Can I have the operation more quickly and for less money?” The more important question is: “Where am I going to be treated?”
At HM Nou Delfos, the answer is a 24,000-square-metre multidisciplinary hospital in one of Europe’s great cities, backed by a major Spanish private healthcare group and equipped to provide sophisticated medical and surgical care from diagnosis through to recovery.
Ready to get back on your feet?
If you are facing a long NHS wait for a hip or knee replacement, shoulder surgery, spinal surgery or ACL repair, explore the treatment options available at HM Nou Delfos through My Medical Gateway.
Compare fixed-price Treatment Packages, review your treatment options and start your journey online today.
Visit My Medical Gateway at www.mymedicalgateway.com or call our UK-based patient support team on 0161 9600 700 and we’ll help you get started.
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