A year’s worth of activities at the Hospice Malta day care centre, a place of refuge for cancer, motor neurone disease, end-of-life cardiac, respiratory and renal patients, are being funded by Bank of Valletta.

Patients, besides benefitting from physiotherapy, complementary therapy and occupational therapy, spend their morning sharing jokes and other various experiences, as well as getting advice from various experts, ranging from medical to spiritual.

“The atmosphere at the centre is quite a surprise for those who have not experienced it. Patients often feel they cannot laugh and cry openly because they do not want to upset those around them. When they come here, they feel the strength and support that comes from being with others who are going through the same traumatic experience,” BoV head of Media and Community Relations Vanessa Macdonald explained.

The hospice provides transport to and from the centre to make sure that relatives have time for themselves; in fact, last year, over 2,700 trips were organised for patients by the hospice.

A number of patients avail themselves of the hairdressing service, beauty salon and special bath on a regular basis.

Commenting during the presentation, Hospice Malta general manager Antoinette Shah said: “Donations give us hope and encourage us to continue in our mission to help those needing a helping hand.

“The Malta Hospice Movement continuously strives to raise awareness of the needs of the organisation, as it could not operate without the help of the public. This donation by BoV will give us a good boost to help us in our constant efforts to improve the lives of our patients and their families.”