A Brief History

On July 13th 1981, over 29 years ago, Ardgowan Hospice was incorporated as a limited company. This facilitated the development of Hospice services for the very first time for the people of Inverclyde.

Between 1981 and May 16th 1986, an immense amount of dedicated effort took place, by staff and volunteers alike, resulting in the opening of Ardgowan Hospice by Tom Weir, MBE.

A wealth of developments followed over the years, including a brand new build to house our innovative ACCESS at Ardgowan. ACCESS was opened by Prince Charles on July 13th, 2001. We remain the only Hospice in Scotland to offer this type of support for patients and carers at any point in their illness.