A “visionary” charity chief executive from East Kilbride has been appointed OBE in King Charles’ first birthday honours list.
Rhona Baillie received the prestigious honour in recognition of her work at the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow, where she has been at the helm for 15 years and oversaw its £21 million fundraising campaign and move to bespoke new premises at the city’s Bellahouston Park.
She says she is “incredibly honoured and humbled” by the honour for services to palliative care and to the hospice movement – which comes after a four-decade career in healthcare in both Scotland and Canada, including previous posts with Lanarkshire health board.
Originally from East Kilbride and now living in Strathaven, Rhona first qualified as a nurse in 1984 and spent a period working in Toronto, before returning home and earning a postgraduate degree in cancer nursing from Glasgow University and then a BSc in community health from Caledonian University.
She worked in community palliative care, and then took up project management posts in Lanarkshire where she developed a service to support terminally ill patients who wished to die at home, campaigning for funding and with the project going on to receive a Scottish Parliament commendation.
After working as a facilitator with the cancer service improvement programme across Scotland, she joined the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in 2005 and became chief executive three years later – spearheading its Brick by Brick capital appeal which raised £21 million in five years to allow construction of the new state-of-the-art parkland facility, which welcomed its first patients and staff in 2018.
Rhona said: “I’m incredibly honoured and humbled to receive this OBE, which I share with the dedicated team at the hospice – their steadfast commitment and compassion have been the driving force behind our growth and success.
“This is very much a team honour and together, we will continue to innovate and expand our services, ensuring that we make a lasting impact on the lives of those we serve.
“I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who supported the construction of our new hospice, as well as those who have generously given their time, effort, and financial assistance; it’s thanks to their unwavering support and the dedicated efforts of the entire team that the hospice has become the place of loving care that it is today.”
Hospice officials praised Rhona’s “exceptional contributions to the field of palliative care and in expanding the reach and impact of the charity”, which supports 1200 new patients and their families each year and which is currently marking its 40th anniversary.
They said: “Rhona [is] an integral part of the hospice, leading the organisation with unwavering commitment and a vision to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families; under her transformative and visionary leadership, the hospice has experienced tremendous growth and become a beacon of hope for individuals facing life-limiting illnesses.
“She has focused on expanding services, ensuring that individuals in need receive the highest standard of palliative and end-of-life care – thanks to her tireless efforts, the hospice has become a centre of excellence, recognised nationally and internationally for its pioneering approach.”
Rhona is a past chair of the Scottish hospice leadership group and a former member of the council of the Scottish partnership for palliative care, and is a director of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce council.
Among those congratulating her on the “thoroughly deserved honour” was Glasgow lord provost Jacqueline McLaren, who said: “Rhona’s many years of service and dedication at the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice have been truly outstanding, and I send my heartfelt congratulations on her OBE.
“Her contribution to the development and delivery of palliative care in the west of Scotland and Glasgow in particular is a testament to Rhona’s wealth of experience in end of life care, supporting terminally ill patients and their families through a very difficult time.”
* Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
