Compassion is our vocation.
Born out of a community rebuilding after the Clydebank Blitz, St Margaret of Scotland Hospice has provided specialist care to people living with advanced illness and complex clinical and nursing needs since 1950, alongside the families who love them. We are Scotland's first and largest hospice, rooted in Clydebank.
Our foundation.
In 1948, the Religious Sisters of Charity arrived in Clydebank at the request of Father Michael Ward, who had spent years rebuilding the community after the Blitz. Two years later, they bought a house in Millbrae Crescent and opened Scotland's first hospice. When a man with advanced throat cancer arrived at their door saying he had nowhere to go, the Sisters said yes. That act of compassion is the origin of everything the Hospice has become.
Growing with demand.
From that single house, the Hospice has grown alongside the community it serves. A second house was added in 1952. A purpose-built facility opened in East Barns Street in 1971, caring for 60 in-patients and 50 home care patients. The first-floor extension in 1993 created St Joseph's Ward. The Sir Patrick Hamill Education Centre opened in 1998. And in 2006, the Mary Aikenhead Centre was purpose-built to care for patients with complex clinical and nursing needs.
What we do today.
We provide specialist palliative care through St Joseph's Ward for patients with life-limiting illness, complex clinical and nursing care through the Mary Aikenhead Centre, and community palliative care for patients and families at home. Our approach is holistic, we care for the whole person, not just the illness.
Alongside our clinical care, we offer pastoral support for patients and families of all faiths and none, counselling from diagnosis through to bereavement, complementary therapies, and an activity programme designed to bring moments of calm and connection during a stay with us.
Looking ahead.
In 2025, we launched our £5 million Building Appeal, the most ambitious project in the Hospice's history. The appeal is funding a full refurbishment of St Joseph's Ward, replacement of our building envelope, and new spaces designed around the needs of our patients and families. It's the next chapter in a story that began with a single house in 1950.
