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  BELhospice, Serbia Appeal

In 1992 Hospices of Hope established hospice and palliative care services in Romania, through our partner organisation, Hospice ‘Casa Sperantei’. Working with them, we have consistently delivered successful initiatives to increase our capacity to reach more people in need. Since 1992 we have treated thousands of patients and trained over 4,000 medical professionals, including Dr. Natasa Milecivic – a leading oncologist from Belgrade, Serbia. We facilitated Dr. Milecivic in coming to the UK to successfully study for a Diploma in Palliative care from Cardiff University. Dr. Milecivic returned to Belgrade with a determination to start hospice and palliative care in her home city.


The Need

The hospitals in Serbia are cramped and overstretched. Patients who are diagnosed with terminal illness such as advanced cancer are told that there is nothing that can be done to help them. Dr. Milecivic has had to tell this to too many patients so she determined to set up BELhospice, the first hospice in Serbia. With funding and advice from Hospices of Hope, Dr. Milecivic founded BELhospice in 2004. She recruited a team of 10 volunteers as trustees - Serbian professionals from various fields of medicine, management and caring professions, and set-out to make a difference to the terminally ill in her city.

In March 2006 the team identified a premises in the centre of Belgrade as the headquarters. The purchase of the building will be funded mostly by a British Trust in memory of Prue Dufour, who was one of the early pioneers of the hospice movement in the UK. Prue had a particular interest in the Balkans. The building will combine an office, an outpatient clinic and a lecture room to educate medical health professionals about hospice care.

BELhospice has now signed a contract with the Belgrade Clinical Centre to provide a palliative care team within the hospital. As the largest hospital in Serbia, the Clinical Centre diagnoses 14,000 cases of cancer every year and it is hard for them to cope. BELhospice aims to demonstrate good palliative care within the hospital and will follow patients to care for them in their homes once they have been discharged.


Our Capacity to Undertake the Project

Since 1992, Hospices of Hope has consistently delivered successful initiatives to further the existence of hospice care in Romania and the surrounding regions.


We now need to continue to give support to BELhospice to continue the work that they are pioneering in Belgrade.

The need for hospice care in Serbia is huge.

£10,000 remains to be found for purchase of building


Please help us to develop this much needed work