We are delighted to announce that on Monday 6th August, the Donna Mortimer Ballantyne Wing was officially opened by the Mortimer family. This is in preparation for our inpatient unit opening to patients with life limiting illnesses later this month.

Donna, who was a Director and Trustee of Kilbryde Hospice, worked tirelessly advocating and fundraising for a hospice to be built in South Lanarkshire. Donna lost her brave 9 year battle with Malignant Melanoma in 2011, Donna never got to see the fruits of her labour – a state of the art hospice which not only will have specialist inpatient beds over the coming weeks but currently delivers day and care at home to many patients across the South Lanarkshire community.

Our chairman Dennis Gallagher, said: “We’re delighted along with James, the Mortimer family and the Donna Mortimer Ballantyne Trustees to at long last to be in a position to offer much needed in-patient specialist palliative care beds to those within our communities who need it most. We will be forever grateful for the contribution Donna and her family have made in helping us to finally achieve our goal.”

Lady Susan Haughey CBE, Trustee of both Kilbryde Hospice and the Donna Mortimer Ballantyne Trust said, “Donna was a very dear friend and I joined the board of Kilbryde hospice at Donna’s request whilst Donna fought her battle with Melanoma. After Donna’s untimely death we were committed to carrying on with the fundraising work that Donna was so much a part of along with Tony McGuinness. Being here today to recognise Donna by opening the in-patient unit named after her is fitting to all the efforts of the Mortimer family and those involved with the DMBT.”

A huge heartfelt thanks to every single one of our supporters over the years, whom without, we would have never been able to reach this milestone.