Hospices of Hope

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2012 Bucharest Hospices Appeal

BRICI ENTERTAINMENT AND U2 COMBINE THEIR TALENTS FOR HOSPICE CASA SPERANTEI.

Brici Entertainment, the Romanian Entertainment Company, with offices in Bucharest and the UK, have released a film for Hospice Casa Sperantei.
‘When we volunteered our services to the Hospice, we wanted to do something really impactful that brought attention to such a great cause’ said Mark Walton, the writer and director of the film, from Brici Entertainment.
‘Getting the biggest band in the world to help us, was very important, not only for what the band represents, but the fact that this project involved many great people from different countries, who gave their time and talent to getting the message out, that Hospice Casa Sperantei do wonderful work for every patient they take in’ added Mark Walton.
‘The doctors and nurses were extremely caring with their patients and I think that comes across in the film, the stories and people of all ages that we met were very courageous, especially the children. We hope that this film really helps the Hospice, in their fund raising drive this year.’
To watch this this video, click here

You too can support our appeal, it is so easy using Just Text Giving. Simply send a text message to 70070, type the message HOFH01 £5 (example of amount you wish to donate)

In Romania, 75% of people reach the terminal stage of their illness before seeing a doctor. Despite the immense success of our own hospice services and others that have since been founded in the country, still 90% of terminally ill people die at home with little support or pain relief.

The World Health Organisation recommends a total of 230 specialist palliative care beds for Bucharest: there are currently NONE!

Hospices of Hope provides a hospital and home visiting service in the City and has also recently opened an out-patient clinic.

Our partner Hospice Casa Sperantei was the first Romanian hospice organisation. Together we built a 20 bed in-patient hospice in Brasov in 2001. Since its establishment the hospice has cared for more than 11,000 adults and children and trained more than 9,000 healthcare professionals.

It is now our intention to build a new Hospice of Hope in Bucharest with 20 beds for adults and 10 respite beds for children and a teaching centre. The building will also provide a day centre, out-patient clinic and house the home-care services team.

The appeal to build the hospice was launched in September 2008 by the Duchess of Norfolk. However, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the unfolding world recession persuaded us to stop the appeal for a period and concentrate on maintaining existing services through difficult economic times.

Then in 2009, Patrick Desbiens, the General Manager of GlaxoSmithKline in Romania gathered a group of Chief Executives and Ambassadors to raise the 4.7 million Euros needed to build the hospice and to pay for the first 9 months of running costs. The “Honorary Patrons” met in September 2009 and have continued meeting monthly ever since to raise the money, find the right site and govern the process of getting the hospice built and running.

Vodafone committed €600,000 Euro, GlaxoSmithKline €500,000, a private individual gave €200,000, Raiffeisen Bank gave €100,000, Amgen gave €100,000, BCR gave 100,000 and 33 other companies and individuals gave more than €10,000. The total pledged in October 2011 was €2,608,803, of which €933,503 had been received.

In 2010, the charity explored the possibility using public land through a concession from one of the Sectors in Bucharest. After lengthy negotiations, it became apparent that the process would take a long time and would involve too many risks for the charity to take on. Therefore, in November 2010 the Honorary Patrons took the decision to look for a suitable private piece of land to buy.

By January 2011, 5 private options had been found, but a piece of land next to a lake and close to central Bucharest was clearly identified as the best option. The owner of the land had experienced the recent death of his brother to cancer, and understood the need for palliative care. Consequently he sold the land for a significant discount. The architects have submitted the plans to the relevant authorities for the building permits. The permits are expected to be received before the end of October 2011.

In December 2010, the Florescu family contacted to charity to offer their family’s Summer residence as a children’s hospice. The property is 18 km South of Bucharest. The extensive buildings include a working farm with pigs, sheep, goats and chickens. The main building can be converted into an inpatient hospice with 10 beds for children. The other buildings will be used for activities and for the day centre for children to visit. The surrounding fields and lake will be ideal for the children to play in. We plan to use these facilities to provide respite care for the children of Bucharest who suffer with life limiting illnesses. We also plan to hold summer camps for them and their siblings, using volunteers from the companies which support us, both in Romania and the UK.