Celebrating Hospice Care Week: 45 Years of Care

A message from Ardgowan Hospice’s CEO.

Hospice Care Week is a time to pause, reflect, and celebrate everything that makes hospice care so special. Is it really only a year since we hosted our very first Go Purple Day? Time flies, but the response to Go Purple this year has been phenomenal, a true testament to how amazing our local community is when it comes to standing by Ardgowan Hospice.

For 45 years, Ardgowan Hospice has served Inverclyde. As we mark this major milestone, we want to start with two simple words: thank you. We could not have reached 45 years without your incredible support.

Overcoming Challenges Together

It’s no secret that the past year brought its share of bumps in the road. Earlier this year, when we unexpectedly received less Scottish Government funding than hoped, we put out an urgent appeal. The people of Inverclyde responded magnificently, helping bridge the gap and literally saving our services. You raised funds, hosted community events, and stood up to remind decision-makers that fair hospice funding is vital, especially for smaller hospices in areas like ours.

We’ve also tackled major operational hurdles head-on:

• The Old Church Site: We successfully navigated planning approvals to demolish the old church. In its place, we’re planning a much-needed new car park and a lovely community garden, which we’ll be inviting the public to help us design!
• Upgrading Our Inpatient Ward: Following recruitment challenges for a clinical lead consultant, we had to temporarily pause ward admissions. We used that window to carry out crucial renovation work, funded by a generous grant from the Miss I F Harvey Trust, to modernise the ward for 2026 and beyond. We focused on enhanced dignity, improved patient care, and a better experience for families.
• Welcoming Dr Sundar Balasubramanian: With our refurbished ward complete and Dr Sundar Balasubramanian joining us as locum consultant, our doors are open, and the ward is looking fantastic.

Beyond the Ward: Care That Reaches Everywhere

While our ward gets a lot of attention, so much of Ardgowan’s work happens behind the scenes and out in the community:

• Community & Wellbeing Teams: Our community team was busier than ever during the ward pause, supporting people who want to remain comfortable at home.
• Professional Helpline: We run a specialist helpline for local GPs and district nurses, offering expert advice so patients get high-quality palliative support—even when they don’t realise the hospice is involved.
• Volunteer Drivers: Last year alone, our incredible volunteer drivers covered over 70,000 miles taking local patients to vital appointments in Glasgow
• MYlife: Services like MYlife help individuals, families, and carers reconnect and navigate life after bereavement or after treatment.

Looking Ahead to the Future

We aren’t standing still. Looking forward, we have big ambitions to do even more for Inverclyde:

• Expanding our community services to offer 7-day-a-week support.
• Securing funding to introduce dedicated spiritual care leadership.
• Continuing to innovate and adapt our services so that whenever you or a loved one need specialist palliative care, we are ready.

Let’s Go Purple This Friday!

Every school, business, group, and individual painting the town purple this week is helping us safeguard compassionate end-of-life care for our region. Seeing our community unite behind us is deeply humbling.

As we head towards Go Purple Day this Friday, pull on your purple jumpers, dust off your purple decorations, and join us in celebrating 45 years of care, and many more to come!

Thank you for being there for us, so we can be there for you.

-Graham Gardiner, CEO of Ardgowan Hospice