On 11th April, we presented our results for 2023 at our Hospice Centre in Benalmádena. Representatives of public institutions, companies, volunteers and donors attended the event, together with members of the foundation's board of trustees and management team.

The event was opened by Dr. Yusuf Hamied, pharmaceutical entrepreneur and philanthropist of international relevance, who has funded, among other things, the building that bears his name next to the Cudeca Hospice Centre,  for training and research.  Dr. Hamied explained his link to Palliative Care from his hometown in Pune, India, and his interest in helping to promote research into rare diseases, based on his understanding that science, in addition to developing knowledge, must be sensitive to humanitarian needs.

He was followed by Aurea Peralta, Benalmádena Town Councillor for Social Welfare and Families, representing the Mayor, who welcomed those present, expressing the pride of this municipality to be the home of the Cudeca Hospice. She also announced the award of a €50,000 grant to support the Home Care and Paediatric Palliative Care Programmes.

Financial Report

Rafael Olalla, our Deputy Chief Executive  & Financial Director, explained the importance of transparency in the management of entities such as Cudeca Hospice. He then reported on the positive financial results of 2023. Expenditure of €6.5M.€ and income of €6.8M.€ have produced a surplus of €269,000. This is another year that has been covered, despite the increase in patient demand, which has skyrocketed since the pandemic. In the distribution of income, the role of the 27 charity shops stands out. This is followed by the SAS contracts for home care and hospitalisation, pointing out here the need to increase funding for these contracts in view of the increase in resources needed to provide an adequate response. The community continues to strongly support the project through the classic sources of funding: inheritances, donations, regular donors and charity events (€400,000).  Banks such as La Caixa, mainly, and Unicaja, continue with their important annual commitment, as well as Town Councils and the Diputación de Málaga.

In terms of expenditure, Olalla explained that 56% of the expenditure goes to the mission; 33% to charity shops; 8% to fundraising and communication. Of the mission, the most important expenses were €1.1m for home care and €1.5m for the hospitalisation unit.

Olalla ended by explaining the financial forecasts for 2024-2027.  With the current trends in costs, as well as the increase in demand and needs, these forecasts present some concern and  make it necessary to plan and strengthen the different lines of financing, if we really want to continue to maintain and increase the level of services offered.

Rafael Olalla

Care Report

Dr. Marisa Martín, our Chief Executive  & Medical Director and Founder, together with Joan Hunt OBE, of Cudeca 32 years ago, explained to the audience the results of the care provided. She began by explaining the urgent and paramount need to promote palliative care, with end-of-life care as a global priority. She went on to explain how the demand for care for people facing advanced illness continues to increase, with a total of 1,902 patients being cared for together with their families in 2023, 98% in the Home Care Programme, and 11% in Cudeca's Inpatient Unit. Thanks to contracts with the Andalusian Health Service Junta de Andalucia, Cudeca's care forms part of the public network of Palliative Care in Malaga. She went on to detail the new challenges, such as the Paediatric Palliative Care Programme, now in its second year of existence, and the national and international teaching and research projects of the Cudeca Institute of Studies and Research, highlighting the 14 years of collaboration with the University of Malaga through the solidarity postgraduate degrees.

She ended with a special emphasis on integrating the community as a co-responsible part of caring for the most fragile at the end of life, especially through volunteering.

Dr. Marisa Martín

Cudeca Recognitions

The Cudeca 2023 Recognitions were then presented to both Canal Sur and Santa María Golf Club, for their valuable support to Cudeca's mission, and as a symbol of one of the fundamental pillars that keep Cudeca alive, the loyal and generous support of the public.

Canal Sur - 2023 Cudeca Recognition

Santa María Golf Club 2023 Cudeca Recognition

The event was closed by Ricardo Urdiales, the President of the Foundation, who spoke of the challenge of infinite demand versus finite resources. A challenge which, to date, Cudeca, with the community as a whole and with SAS contracts, has been able to manage, but which forces us to reflect on how far we can continue to serve, and how to finance such special care.

Thanks to all those present, and to the community of Malaga as a whole, for keeping the strength of this project alive. As our President and Founder, Joan Hunt,  used to  say, "if the community's interest in Cudeca wanes, Cudeca will disappear".