Cudeca Foundation has inaugurated this morning, in Benalmadena, the Yusuf Hamied Institute for Studies and Research in Palliative Care, thanks to the donation of a generous benefactor, the Indian doctor Yusuf Hamied. With this centre, according to Cudeca, the founding vision of contributing to the training of professionals "who know how to add life to the days" will become a reality. The main objective of the centre is to train healthcare professionals to improve the quality of care in palliative care and develop innovative models of intervention and research.

In addition, this institute will be a complementary source of income, which will help to cope with the increase in the number of patients treated, which has doubled in the last five years. The Mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE), who was present at the event, stressed that "the inauguration of this research centre will place the Costa del Sol, the province of Malaga and Andalusia at the epicentre of palliative care research. There is still a lot to find out about cancer and why it is affecting more and more people. Today, Mijas Town Hall government team representatives are present as they want to continue consolidating this alliance with the Cudeca Foundation".

For his part, the Social Services Councillor, Hipólito Zapico (PSOE), also praised the service provided by the foundation to the Mijas families. "This association assists an average of 90 Mijas families every year, and benefits from the subsidies that the Mijas Town Hall gives to Cudeca", highlighting also the "40,000 euros per year that we donate to the foundation.  We believe that we are contributing to improving the quality of life of people suffering from such tragic diseases as cancer".

Born in 1936, Yusuf Hamied enrolled in 1954 at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he studied Natural Sciences and completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry. The doctor has thus become the institute benefactor. Hamied himself was at the inauguration this morning. He spoke about the beginnings of this project: "A few years ago, the idea was proposed to create an institute within Cudeca for health professionals involved in training and research. The project was funded through the Yusuf and Farida Hamied Foundation. This centre is a reality left to us by the legacy of Joan Hunt".

Cudeca's manager and medical director, Marisa Martín, added that "today is a very special day for the future of Cudeca. This day has been a dream come true and will always remain in our memory to drive forward what remains to be done".

 

This is how the new centre looks like

On 27th July 2018, this project began to become a reality: Cudeca celebrated the laying of the first stone of the centre. The event, according to the foundation, marked a milestone in the history of the foundation, as it represents the recognition of its more than 25 years of experience in the treatment and care of people with advanced diseases. "What we wanted to do was to make a project for the future, something like creating a multi-purpose space adaptable to the needs of today and the future that has synergies between current ways of living," added the project's architect, Graciela Waen.

The centre, built on land adjacent to Cudeca, will provide training in palliative care. In its classrooms will take place the training activities organised by the foundation for health professionals interested in end-of-life care. Cudeca assures that training will be provided for all professional profiles and at all levels. During the presentation of this new centre, which is divided into three floors and has an avant-garde, spacious and bright design, the figure of Cudeca's founder, Joan Hunt, was present. "Thirty years ago," said the institute's director, Ángel Bataller, "someone to whom we owe everything, Joan Hunt, imagined something like this. For others, it was just a dream, an utopia. Since then, until today, more than 17,000 people have experienced at the hands of Cudeca that it is they, and not their illness, to whom we have given importance".

The City council assures that the collaboration between Mijas and Cudeca will continue over time, as the palliative care assistance provided to cancer patients is essential for patients, and their families. To conclude, the Mijas Mayor added that "the Town Hall collaboration with Cudeca is a task that we carry out with financial contributions and collaborations from Mijas groups and other public or private municipal entities. We understand that the assistance provided by the foundation transcends the scope of the municipality in which it is located".

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