The Leader Newspaper can exclusively reveal that talks are currently underway amongst representatives from a number of interested authorities to establish a hospice for the terminally ill here in the Orihuela Costa.
The most recent discussions took place last Tuesday at the Orihuela Costa Town Hall where the meeting was chaired by the Councillor for International Residents, Sophia Alvarez.
Also part of the discussion group was the President and Secretary of the German Speaking Association, the body responsible for putting the concept forward, along with such heavyweights as the Director of the Casa Verde Foundation, the Director of Casa Verde, Pilar de la Horadada and the Director of Elche /Torrevieja University Hospital.
The debate centred on such concerns as the location and costs of the building project along with staffing, support and ongoing financial matters.
The councillor for International residents said that she had a number of building locations in mind, all of which were on the coast. She also agreed to look at possible investors which she suggested might not be too difficult to find.
Other group members were tasked with investigating the likely uptake in such an establishment along with the projected demographic for the coastal population.
Members are to report back at the next group meeting which will be held next month.
Previous meetings have involved the Director of the Orihuela Costa Centro Salud and the German Consul, both of whom have offered their unequivocal support to the project.
In this part of Spain, there are very few Social Service Nursing Teams and an even smaller number Palliative Care Teams so the possibility of providing a facility that would deliver high quality care to terminal prognosis patients is long overdue.
Although there are such institutions scattered up and down the coast, none are situated within any of the local municipalities. The establishment of such an institution locally would be warmly welcomed and I have no doubt would be well supported by our abundance of local charities.
