Tony’s hard work has left a lasting legacy

Tributes are being paid to the Rutherglen man who help found the Kilbryde Hospice, as the new £4million building at Hairmyres Hospital opened to the public.

Tony McGuinness was the driving force behind the Hospice, died at the age of 76 after a long illness in January 2010.

But his legacy lives on, with the opening of the hospice building last week, which has been given huge donations from the Rutherglen and Cambuslang community, to create the hospice that South Lanarkshire desperately wanted.

The hospice is a charity that exists to provide care and support to people affected by life limiting illnesses such as cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, COPD and many others. They also support the patient’s family, carers and people who have been bereaved.

Consultant surgeon John Richards, who, along with Tony first launched the appeal for support for a hospice way back in 2001, said even they had been astounded at the level of public demand there was for such a facility.

John said: “Through working in the hospital and talking to colleagues I knew more hospice facilities were desperately needed.

“My colleagues and I were dealing with patients on an almost daily basis whom we knew would benefit from hospice care but instead were faced with the prospect of dying at home, often alone, or in a hospital bed where staff, because of pressure of work, were unable to give them the time and level of support they really needed.

“But even we did not realise just how much our wish for a hospice to be built in the area resonated with the local community.”

John said his view was shared by friends, including cancer specialist Dr Hosni Yousef, who met up regularly to discuss what could be done about it.

Although they all agreed St Andrew’s Hospice in Airdrie was doing a terrific job, they felt it was not big enough to cope with the demand in the county for hospice care. It was also too far away and too difficult for many of the