A hospital in Romania funded solely on charity donations is set to be the first of its kind in the country.
Currently under construction, the Paediatric Oncology, Radiotherapy and Trauma hospital in Bucharest has gained support from 300,000 donors since 2015.
More than €30m has been raised so far, including €250,000 from heavy metal band Metallica.
The #NoiFacemUnSpital initiative [#WeMakeAHospital] led by NGO Give Life, is estimated to span 12,000sqm, across nine levels and house approximately 200 beds.
Funding from 4,000 businesses have also poured in to help the project reach its 2021 opening date.
According to Give Life, the project was born out of a lack of confidence in the government’s provision of new paediatric oncology resources.
What began in 2015 as a plan to improve the Marie Curie Paediatric Oncology department in the hospital, developed into an initiative to construct a whole new hospital, said the charity.
Photo credit: Enrico Brodoloni
For the first time in the last 30 years, Romanians saw that things can be done in a country where everybody was resigned to the idea that nothing could
“For the first time in the last 30 years, Romanians saw that things can be done in a country where everybody was resigned to the idea that nothing could,” Carmen Uscatu, one of the the two founders of Give Life Association, told Building Better Healthcare.
“When you see that the building is rising, that the NGO is working with top specialists in their fields, that for once in a lifetime you can truly say that you are building a Hospital to save lives, these are the reasons that convinced people to join the movement.”
Give Life hopes the “hospital of the future” will bridge the gap in this area by providing a “multidisciplinary approach” to cancer care, treatment and research for young people
Give Life hopes the “hospital of the future” will bridge the gap in this area by providing a “multidisciplinary approach” to cancer care, treatment and research for young people, from infants to adolescents.
The project is expected to include a Paediatric Radiotherapy department, Intensive Care Unit with one-bed wards and a modern operating theatre with seven ORs.
Also featured will be an Oncology department, Haemato-oncology department, neurosurgical department and a surgical department.
Photo credit: Enrico Brodoloni
In Romania a multidisciplinary approach in treating children with serious diseases and a hospital that follows West-European rules, protocols and medical procedures is lacking, states the Give Life website.
“We are both enthusiastic about the future, but we also tend to think pretty realistically. The Hospital will not bring the change sought after by people if they don't get involved and do not start to make things differently. This Hospital is the image of us, all of the 300,000 builders, and it will reflect what we expect from us and from the country,” said Oana Gheorghiu, joint founder of Give Life.
“Our plan is to use this Hospital to create a best practice example for authorities to follow and to implement around the country. Our plan is not to replace what authorities need to do, put to offer them an example and to put pressure on them to do their job.”
Plans for a second building are already underway, as the NGO liaises with French architects and consultants.
