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Many guests
from Great Britain and USA, together
with numerous friends of BELhospice from
Serbia, the press and business people,
as well as a representative of Belgrade
City Hall, attended the opening
ceremony. H E David Gowan, the British
Ambassador in Serbia, and Mrs. Victoria
Nevard, the sister of Prue Dufour, had
the honor to officially open the
Education Center.
 The
Education Center was named after Prue
Dufour, a pioneer of palliative care in
Great Britain, who had compassion for
terminally ill patients in Eastern
Europe and understood their needs and
the importance of pioneering palliative
care in Serbia, which didn't exist at
all. Following her recent death, a
London Trust donated large gift in her
memory as a support for BELhospice
center in Serbia.
Dr Natasa
Milicevic, the executive director of
BELhospice, said at the opening that she
is very happy because this center will
provide the education for medical
professionals who will be able to use
this knowledge through their work with
patients, and not only in Belgrade but
across Serbia as well. Therefore,
terminally ill patients will for the
first time receive palliative care and
their families will be receiving advice
and help. Dr Natasa expressed her
gratitude to all donors and friends of
BELhospice, especially to Hospices of
Hope from Great Britain for their
support and help.
 Palliative
care is at the beginning phase in Serbia
and for that reason BELhospice, as the
first education center of that kind,
will cooperate not only with medical
institutions but will also start a wider
community action which will include
contacts with the press, TV, famous
persons in business, art, culture,
sport, along with representatives of the
Serbian Government, with the aim to
provide information about palliative
care and to ask for their support in
developing the work of BELhospice. The
British Ambassador in Serbia,
emphasized, in his speech at the
opening, the importance of BELhospice
for pioneering the development of
palliative care in Serbia. Dr Mary
Baines, the world's longest serving
palliative care doctor, said that
hospice care is developing worldwide and
now had reached 125 countries.
BELhospice
wants to thank all friends and
supporters who offered their help and
who understood that the opening of this
Education Center “Prue Dufour” will make
a huge difference to terminally ill
patients and their families in Serbia. |
