Hospice Angelus, Chisinau

Since 2007, Hospices of Hope has been supporting ‘Angelus Moldova’, a charitable organisation based in the capital city of the Republic of Moldova, Chişinau. Moldova has had a turbulent recent history and is by far the poorest country in Europe. All cancer patients in the country are treated at the huge 1010 bed cancer hospital in Chişinau however there are no home-care services, so when patients are discharged home, the family has to cope without any support. In 2002, a local surgeon, Dr. Valerian Isac, recognised the need for this kind of care and established Hospice Angelus as the first provider of palliative care in Moldova. The primary goal of the organisation is to provide medical, social, spiritual and psychological care to patients with incurable and terminal illnesses.

Currently caring for around 300 children and adults per year, the staff at Angelus Moldova consist of a medical and administration team who co-ordinate the patients visits and fundraising activities respectively. Our services include medical care and training family members. As we cannot be with our patients 24/7, it is important that their relatives know how to spot dangerous symptoms and to administer medicine. However, our services do not stop there. We are aware that this is a difficult time for all the family and thus we provide counselling to not only our patients but also their relatives and friends during this period of hardship. Additionally, we do not just leave the family once the patients’ suffering is finally over, rather we offer bereavement counselling and stay in touch with them as necessary.

The year 2011 has been a great success as we have achieved the following:
• Received accreditation with the Moldovan Ministry of Health and the National House of Medical Insurance which has secured us government funding for our medical work
• Established a paediatric team who will work with children with non-cancer life-limiting illnesses, a first for Moldova
• Raised half of our annual budget in-country through fundraising, sponsorship and donations

If you are able to donate towards the work of Hospice Angelus, please click on the link below. We are very grateful for all your support.