The St. Andrew’s Hospice Capital Appeal Project

Raising a Fortune to Transform the Future 

 It’s always good to catch up with former Gebbie & Wilson colleagues – and to find out what they’ve been up to since leaving us.   Last week, I was delighted to have a visit from Mrs. Louise Arthur who (as Miss Louise Pepperell) was our Trainee Solicitor between 2007 and 2009.  Louise was an excellent Trainee and we had no hesitation in offering her a position as a Qualified Solicitor here, upon completion of her traineeship.  However Louise, and new husband Kenny, were moving to England then and Louise, after dual qualifying in English Law, continued her career there.

Louise with Carol Smillie

Now Louise, with Kenny and their baby daughter, has settled back in Strathaven and has an exciting role as a Fundraising Manager with St. Andrew’s Hospice.  When I asked Louise what her job entailed, I thought I misheard her when she said that the St. Andrew’s Hospice Capital Appeal Team, of which she is part, is seeking to raise Nine Million Pounds – did Louise really say NINE MILLION POUNDS?  She confirmed the figure.  I asked:  Why such a huge amount?  What’s it for?  How is the Team going about raising it?   Here’s what Louise had to say:-

St Andrew’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care to people from North and South Lanarkshire and indeed many people from Strathaven have benefitted from their services over the past 30 years.  The Hospice building is in need of major refurbishment and the Capital Appeal Project was set up to raise the funds to achieve this.

So…£9,000,000?

 Yes,  our Capital Appeal aims to raise £9 million to reconfigure and refurbish our Hospice              building to make it fit for the future and to meet the needs of our patients, their carers, their families                 and to comply with current legislation.

St Andrew’s Hospice is 30 years old and our building requires to be substantially upgraded. We want to provide our patients with an environment that matches our excellent standard of care. Our equipment, heating, plumbing and electrical systems are out-dated and are no longer cost effective or efficient. Changes in clinical requirements are a key factor in why this major refurbishment is required including compliance with healthcare space standards.

We require to raise £9 million in addition to continuing to raise the £4.6 million required annually to fund the current services.

Why are such substantial works required?

The upgraded building will enable us to increase the number of single bedded rooms that we have at present, which will allow us to ensure more privacy for patients and their loved ones. This also helps us to comply with the current space standards for healthcare facilities.

Significant changes in how hospice care is delivered is also a key factor in why this major refurbishment is required to ensure we can continue to provide safe and quality care for the next 30 years. The equipment and facilities needed to deliver modern hospice care have considerably improved since we opened in 1986 and take up much more space. Refurbishing the Hospice will allow us to stay in our current home, continue to care for the patients of North and South Lanarkshire and make our Hospice fit for the future.

O.K. – so who will benefit from this?

 All Patients referred and admitted from across Lanarkshire and their families will benefit from improved surrounding and environment at the most difficult time of  their lives. Approximately 4,000 service users in total accessed the Hospice’s various services in the past year.

             The 650,000 inhabitants of Lanarkshire should they ever need to access any of our services in the       future

     Our staff will also benefit from working in an environment which helps facilitate the continued provision of high quality person centred care.

So, a lot of money – but to make a big difference?

Absolutely.

 Could you summarise for me please, what completing your Capital Appeal Project will mean for St.Andrew’s Hospice?

  Yes, of course.  This project will:-

• Make a transformational change to St Andrew’s Hospice and palliative care in Lanarkshire.
• Offer increased privacy, dignity and comfort to patients and their families.
• Offer our 30 inpatients a choice of a single or communal
• Increase our bed occupancy (from around 87% at the moment to closer to 100%) and use of our other services including counselling and bereavement support.
• Ensure that rooms will have space for loved ones to stay overnight, eat together and experience the comforts of home.
• Provide that all rooms will have much better natural light and better access to outside garden areas.
• Create a separate patient entrance allowing patients to be admitted onto the ward in privacy and dignity and without entering via our busy public entrance.

 That’s quite a list of benefits!   Just the small matter of raising the £9,000,000 then?

 Yes, there is that of course!    But could I just stress that, to raise this, we are relying on the generosity of our individual supporters just as much as on corporate sponsors.  All donations, of whatever amount, take us that bit closer to reaching our target.

Thank you Louise:  this is clearly something you are very passionate about.  We, at your old home of Gebbie & Wilson, wish you every success with the Capital Appeal Project.  I’m sure the newly refurbished St. Andrew’s Hospice will become a reality in the near future.  I certainly look forward to seeing it.

Louise Arthur, Fundraising Manager at St. Andrew’s Hospice, was discussing their Capital Appeal Project with Gebbie & Wilson’s Senior Partner, David C. Murray.

To find out more about the Project and how you can help, please visit the St. Andrew’s Hospice website https://www.st-andrews-hospice.com/fundraising/capital-appeal/

Or you can follow their social media pages

@StAndrewsCapApp on Twitter

and

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StAndrewsHospiceCapitalAppeal/