The Friends’ Hospice has drawn up final plans for refurbishment of its new home in Tala and has submitted them to the Ministry of Health in Nicosia for ratification. If approved, work can begin immediately to bring the nine-bedroom building to internationally-recognised standards for a hospice.
Waugh House has been donated to the Hospice’s Foundation to enable it to recommence its palliative care for people in the Paphos region. The work of the Foundation was halted in 2020 when it had to vacate its previous headquarters to make room for a polyclinic’s expansion. Since then, its charity shops have been raising the funds necessary for the renovations to Waugh House.
“Despite the restrictions caused by Covid, our five shops have remained open throughout, manned by our amazing volunteers who have been cheerful and staunch despite the pressures on them,” says Chris Jones, President of the Foundation. “And we’re delighted to welcome the Polis Charitable Foundation’s bookshop as an addition to the Hospice’s ‘family’.
It costs €250,000 a year to provide palliative care and other services, completely free of charge, to patients suffering from illnesses for which there is no medical cure. Since it began operations in 2006, The Friends’ Hospice has helped two thousand people of all nationalities.
Two months ago, letters were sent to thirty close neighbours of Waugh House to ask if there were any objections to the proposed change of its domestic use to that of a hospice. No objections were received.
Mrs Areti Pieridou, Chairman of Tala Council, has written to the Paphos Planning Department to express her support for the hospice project. The Speaker of the Cyprus House of Representatives, Mrs Annita Dimitriou, has promised a donation from the Assembly for the funding work.
The final refurbishment plans for Waugh House were drawn up by architects Lambrianou Koutsolambros following detailed suggestions from Mrs Afrodite Kathini, an inspector at the Ministry of Health. Advice was also given by Mrs Nina Ebanidze, the former ward sister of the Hospice.
“There is a terrific groundswell of goodwill for the work of The Friends’ Hospice,” says Chris Jones. “This, in itself, is very rewarding for everyone who devotes time and effort to its efforts for the people of the region.”
