REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES
55 CANCER CONTROL 2021
Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration Foundation (Canada) and
the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care, India, have already
successfully carried out ECHO programmes in adult and
children's palliative care in Nepal. These organizations are
partner organizations with Hospice Nepal.
Project Hospice Nepal
Those involved in the project come from Nepal, from across
the globe and from a variety of backgrounds. Professor Max
Watson and Dr Stuart Brown have been involved in various
ways with Palliative Care development in Nepal and provide
medical advice to the group, while there are other members
from the commercial and voluntary sectors. There are ongoing
fundraising campaigns in Nepal, the United Kingdom, New
Zealand and Canada. The project was initiated by the Fairfield
Rotary, Hamilton, New Zealand and in the United Kingdom,
a registered charity, The Challenge Fund, has been actively
campaigning to raise funds and to promote the project in order
to attract as many supporters and donations as possible.
Fundraising has been slowed by the coronavirus pandemic -
particularly in Nepal where the surges of Covid-19 have had
a devastating impact across the country. However, whilst the
pandemic has slowed the progress of fundraising, it has also
highlighted even more starkly how important this project is
to mitigate the suffering of thousands across the country who
have died without access to palliative care support.
Phases of development
Phase 1: Land purchase
Plans for the construction of the new eco-friendly building
have been drawn up and the land secured thanks to generous
donations both from Nepal and overseas. Shortly before the
onset of the pandemic, team members from the United Kingdom,
New Zealand and Canada visited Nepal in order to view the site
of the new hospice and to meet the Hospice board, the medical
leadership and the project manager (Figures 4 and 5).
Phase 2: The build
The construction of the new building and associated areas will be overseen by Mr Om Rajbhandary, a well-respected Nepalese
developer, and one of the original four friends involved with
the creation of the current hospice. The quality of the building
will be of the highest standard and meet stringent earthquake
requirements, as laid down by the Government of Nepal who
carry out regular inspections during the build. The building
has been architecturally designed to be appropriate to Nepali
culture and patient and family needs (Figure 6).
Phase 3: The fitting out
On completion of construction the fitting out phase will begin.
It is envisaged that the new Hospice Nepal will consist of 25
beds with both individual rooms and small wards. There will be
five dedicated paediatric beds with a play area for the children.
LOCAL TEAMS
LOCAL TEAMS
LOCAL TEAMS
LOCAL TEAMS
SPECIALIST
TEAMS
LOCAL TEAMS
Figure 2: The ECHO programme Figure 4: Visit to the site by Project Hopice Nepal team members in
February 2020
Figure 5: The land purchased for the new hospice
Figure 6: Hospice 3-D image