International Journal of Palliative Nursing Awards 2009
Joan Hunt was short-listed to receive the award. Joan was unable to travel so Marisa Martin & Susan Hannam travelled to London for the award ceremony at the Landmark Hotel. There were 3 people short-listed in the category
Service User/Carer/Volunteer of the Year
Sponsored by Quay Books 
Winner
Joan Hunt, OBE
Cudeca Foundation
Benalmadena
Malaga
Spain
2nd Price
Mitzi Alistill Blennerhassett
Slingsby
York
3rd Price
Praveen Govindan
Institute of Palliative Medicine
Calicut
India
We are thrilled that Joan’s nomination was recognised by such a prestigious professional magazine in conjunction with MacMillan Cancer Support
All the staff and volunteers at Fundación Cudeca would like to nominate Joan Hunt OBE for the Service User/Carer/Volunteer of the Year Award
16 years ago Joan Hunt had the idea of fund-raising to establish a Hospice on the Costa del Sol. Her husband had died in the Palliative Care Unit in the Red Cross Hospital in Málaga, although his wish was to die at home. Joan formed a close relationship with the doctors on the unit as they have been to England for training in Hospice care before opening the unit. These doctors knew what her vision was for a hospice and in September 1992 joined together with a group of other likeminded people at a luncheon to launch the idea.
Since then Joan has worked selflessly towards achieving her vision, despite her advancing years and continuous pain due to her physical disability. Over the last 16 years more than 5000 patients have been helped. Last year Cudeca Foundation cared for 600 people with advanced cancer in the province of Málaga, with a daily case load of 130-150 patients.
Thanks to Joan’s leadership and ability to raise funds and manage a large number of both paid staff and volunteers, the Cudeca Foundation now has a purpose-built centre in Benalmádena with a 15 bedded Inpatient Unit and a Day Centre along with the administrative and fund raising departments. It is recognised nationally as a centre of excellence and collaborates internationally.
The philosophy of care in Cudeca is based on the hospice model of care where the patient and family and carers are treated holistically and as a unit. Treatments are adapted to the culture of the family as most of the patients are Spanish, but as Cudeca is situated on the Costa del Sol there are people needing care from many different countries. The majority of the patients are cared for at home by four doctor and nurse teams covering different areas of the province. All the patients’ programmes have the added care of a psychologist and a social worker.
16 years ago Joan’s vision of palliative care, that she and her colleagues developed to establish a Hospice, was innovative as the concept was just starting in Spain. Recently palliative care has developed rapidly in Spain but Cudeca is still the only free standing, independent hospice in the country. There is now a national palliative care plan and Andalucía has developed its own in which Cudeca’s Home Care Service has been incorporated.
Joan Hunt had her vision clear in her mind since she started fund-raising to build a hospice. The first act was a performance of “Gypsy”. She then opened the first charity shop in Fuengirola without knowing if the Spanish people would respond to the idea. Cudeca now has 12 charity shops! The funding to achieve the annual budget of 2 million €uros comes from the charity shops, donations, legacies and events organised by the Cudeca fundraising department. The general public arranges an incredible number of events in aid of Cudeca. Only 8% of the budget comes from official Spanish entities.
The diffusion of palliative care is another area that Joan has put great emphasis. Training both for volunteers and for other health professionals is high on the list of activities. Joan has made sure that the standards are high so Cudeca has created a reputation for quality courses.
Joan is “number one volunteer” in Cudeca; she has inspired many more to give their time free of charge. Over the last 16 years many people have at some moment given their time. At the present there are over 600 volunteers actively helping Cudeca. Their activities extend to helping in the charity shops, with fund raising events, in the office, and as care volunteers in the Day Centre, in the patient’s homes or in the Inpatient Unit.
Joan has achieved a bringing together different communities in the Costa del Sol area. People tend to stay in their own groups with little contact with other nationalities and the local people. The whole of the community has taken the Cudeca Foundation to their hearts and join together in supporting the hospice.
Joan brought her experience in the business world to form a solid Non Governmental Organisation in Southern Spain. Before her retirement Joan had a job in management in a large manufacturing company in the UK. She and her husband retired to Spain to enjoy their retirement but their plans were truncated by the premature death of her husband. After the launch of the Hospice appeal volunteers of all different nationalities worked from Joan’s house but very soon were able to buy a property where the fundraising and home care teams operated from. The association Cudeca was quickly registered; it was later converted into a Foundation with the added security of a board of trustees under the tutelage of the Regional Government. In 1996 the Town Hall in Benalmádena offered the association land to build a purpose-built Hospice. Under Joan’s guidance the building slowly became a reality, she insisted that the money had to be available before commissioning another stage. In 2005 the Spanish royal princess, Doña Cristina officially opened the Cudeca Centre.
Joan was awarded the OBE in 2002, she could have stepped down as president of Cudeca but she still has her hand firmly on the reins of all that goes on in Cudeca doing a six hour day at the office five days a week. The weekends are frequently spent attending fundraising events, bazaars, golf tournaments, dinners, etc.
Joan Hunt will celebrate her 80th birthday in January 2009.
