PRENATAL DIAGNOSTIC CENTRE IN NIŠ AND A NEW WARD OF THE HOSPITAL IN GORNJA TOPONICA OPEN

Belgrade, 11 June 2002 – TRH Crown Prince Aleksandar II and Crown Princess Katherine visited the Paediatric Clinic of the Clinical Centre in Niš yesterday, where Princess Katherine officially opened the Centre for Prenatal diagnostics, the only one of its kind in the Balkans.

Formal opening was attended by the Mayor of Niš Mr. Goran Ćirić, director of the Clinical Center Dr. Jeremić, director of the Pediatric Clinic of the Clinical Centre in Niš Dr. Borislav Kamenov, representative of the humanitarian organisation “Lifeline” Dr. Elaine Laycock, the wife of the Serbian Minister of Science and Technology Mrs. Ljiljana Domazet, and one of the donors of the great humanitarian event held at the White Palace on Friday Mrs. Denise Hale.

This Centre was equipped thanks to the donations of the humanitarian organisation “Lifeline”, whose patron since 1991 has been HRH Crown Princess Katherine. She expressed hope that the experts from this hospital, using the equipment they now have, will manage to help all who need their help.

On this occasion, the director of the Paediatric Clinic of the Clinical Centre in Niš Dr. Borislav Kamenov, gave a lecture on the importance of prenatal diagnostics in contemporary medicine and paediatrics, emphasising the importance of the newly opened Health Centre of Yugoslavia.

After the lecture, TRH Crown Prince Aleksandar II and Crown Princess Katherine visited the neurosurgical ward of the Clinical Centre in Niš where they delivered an anaesthesia unit.

Later in the day, Crown Prince Aleksandar II formally opened the new ward of the Special Psychiatric Clinic in Gornja Toponica.

On this occasion Crown Prince Aleksandar II and his wife were greeted by the director of the hospital Dr. Milan Stanojković and the staff, the president of Niš municipality Mr. Vladimir Domazet and the Bishop of Vranje Pahomije.

HRH Princess Katherine visited this hospital for the first time seven years ago, when she saw the poor condition that it was in. Thanks to donations from Crown Princess Katherine several wards of this hospital were reconstructed.

The ward that was officially opened by Crown Prince Aleksandar II was rebuilt and completely equipped as a result of donations from the humanitarian organisation “Lifeline”, Rotary clubs from Niš, Zemun, Bulgaria and Greece and the Serbian Ministry of Health.

Opening this ward, Crown Prince Aleksandar expressed hope that the help directed for years to this hospital by Crown Princess Katherine was to the benefit of both patients doctors and , as well as that, Their Royal Highnesses would help the hospital as much as possible in the future.