Site identified for Kilbryde Hospice

Jan 14 2010 by John Rowbotham, Hamilton Advertiser

A TWO-ACRE site at Hairmyres Hospital was on Friday earmarked for the building of a six-bed Kilbryde Hospice.

NHS Lanarkshire board agreed at their December that land on the east side of the hospital should be set aside for the new facility.

Their decision marks another step towards creating in South Lanarkshire a new palliative care centre for people who are facing end-of-life illness.

Now, Kilbryde Hospice Appeal are to seek from NHS Lanarkshire board formal approval to lease the land.

That will be part of the business case for the new hospice, which is being drawn up by members of the appeal and NHS officials.

Once the business case has been approved, work on the new hospice can begin.

However, no date for the start of work has been set.

Kilbryde Hospice Appeal chairman Tony McGuinness, who fronted the campaign that raised £2m for the new facility, said: “This is an historic moment for the Kilbryde Hospice Appeal. It is the first step towards the creation of a hospice within South Lanarkshire.

“I would like to take the opportunity of thanking our volunteers and sponsors for all their support.

“As we enter this exciting new phase in our development I would ask for your continued support in the challenges ahead as we turn our dream into a reality.”

Ken Corsar, chairman of NHS Lanarkshire, said: “The identification of land at Hairmyres for a new hospice building marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for palliative care services in the area.”

Efforts to raise money for a new hospice have been underway for the past decade.

In December, 2006, an agreement was signed between the health board and the appeal agreeing to work together towards providing palliative care services in South Lanarkshire.

In 2008, a drop-in day centre along with extended homecare services for the terminally ill was opened at the Red Deer Centre, East Kilbride.

It provides treatments, advice and support to people with a progressive illness such as cancer and neurological disorders, and is run in conjunction with NHS Lanarkshire.

Services currently provided at the Red Deer Drop-In Centre will also eventually transfer to the new building once the first phase of the development is complete.

The building will also include six new palliative care beds. Over time, these will be developed to provide specialist palliative in-patient services.

ARTIST’S IMPRESSION:how the new state-of-the-art hospice at Hairmyres may look.