Red Cross children’s hospice in danger of closing down

THE RED Cross Children’s Hospice operating at Polemidia in Limassol since 1981 is in danger of closing down due to the inability of the charity organisation to cover rising expenses.

With annual expenditures reaching €600,000 the hospice’s administration is now reaching out to the state for additional support, in order to continue its work.

“If the state does not respond to this serious problem, the future of the children’s hospice will be very bleak,” said Takis Neophytou, the Director of the hospice.

The Red Cross Society has been contributing heavily towards the hospice’s operational expenses. The Limassol branch of the Red Cross contributes €34,000 each year to the hospice, while last year the Limassol branch also paid €15,400 for air conditioning to be installed in all rooms at the hospice. The state also offers €160,000 per year.

These contributions, however, are simply not enough particularly as the UN High Commission for Refugees stopped contributing the amount of €240,000 which it previously provided on an annual basis. The hospice’s operational costs have also increased significantly in recent years.

Although it started as a centre for rehabilitating children with minor physical disabilities, children with severe disabilities now live on permanent basis at the hospice.

“Today, the hospice houses children with severe mental and physical disabilities, which requires even more specialised and expensive care and therapy methods. These are people who have nowhere else to go to receive this care and who are totally dependent on the hospice,” said Neophytou.

At present, 75 children aged from three years old to 18 are housed at the hospice, which employs 21 specialists and care providers. The Hospice’s building was constructed with funding from the UN High Commission for Refugees, and is equipped with two swimming pools, offering hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, work-therapy, medical care and education. A special education school teaching the Ministry of Education’s curriculum also operates at the hospice.

The Red Cross has consulted with the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Ministry of Health, to discuss the options available for the hospice. Both ministries promised to work towards finding a solution.

“It is not our intention to close it, but the state must intervene immediately and increase the funding or take over its operation,” Neophytou said.

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