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Non-governmental organization, - Hospice care for terminally ill adults and children

Hospice Casa Sperantei is Romania’s leading hospice charity.
Established in 1992 as a UK-Romanian partnership, it has been responsible for pioneering better care for terminally ill patients and their families throughout the country. Many patients are now dying with dignity rather than suffering unrelieved pain.
Hospice Casa Sperantei is based in Brasov and Bucharest offers care free of charge to patients of all ages diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Currently, the charity looks after 300 patients at any one time. The hospice in Brasov has 13 beds for adults and 6 beds for children, together with day care centres and out patient clinics.
In Bucharest there is a hospital based service and an outpatient clinic. However, the majority of patients are cared for in their own homes. The multi-disciplinary hospice team comprises of doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, chaplain and support staff as well as more than 100 volunteers.
Due to the world financial crisis, the sources of funding have been considerably less in recent months. Grants from the UK and USA have been adversely affected and we expect to receive more than £100,000 less than expected by the end of the year.

In order to try and maintain the services with the same capacity, Hospice Casa Sperantei has launched an emergency fundraising campaign. We are appealing to the business community and to individual donors because we believe that together we can help to defeat pain and bring relief to those who need it.
In Romania, one person out of 5 is affected by cancer and every year more than 40,000 people die from the disease.
Over 70% of cancer cases are diagnosed in the most advanced stages of the disease so there is a huge need for hospice care.
Recently, the Ministry of Health signed a partnership agreement with Hospice Casa Sperantei to develop a national plan for providing hospice care across the country. This is an exciting development, but at the present time only 3% of people needing this type of care receive it.
Please help us to continue making a difference. Your support will be greatly appreciated.