IT might be called the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice but it really belongs to the people of Glasgow.

That has been proved time and again during the massive fundraising drive to build a brand new state-of-the-art facility on a leafy site at Bellahouston Park.

"The progress has been amazing because Glasgow as a whole has great ownership of this," explains hospice chief executive Rhona Baillie.

"And that's the thing we are overwhelmed by because if you look at capital appeals elsewhere you get a number of huge donations.

"What we have had is the majority of the businesses and the general public, along with patients and families, staff and volunteers, all helping us, so it has been a massive effort."

In the week that ground is broken on the site of the new building the organisation launches its Foundations Appeal, the push to raise the remaining £333,000 of the £1m needed to lay the groundwork.

The generosity of the people of Glasgow couldn't be more welcome.

In total it will take £21m to build the new facility, with £6.5m still to raise. To do that, the hospice is asking the people of the city to put their heart into Glasgow's hospice.

Make a donation and write a message on hearts that will be collected from across the city and placed in a sealed chest under the front door of the new building, with a plaque to mark the spot.

This not only helps lay a strong foundation for patient care in the future but puts the hearts of the people of Glasgow into the hospice's new home.

The simple gesture takes the important memories of the current hospice, spanning four townhouses at Carlton Place on the Clydeside, and creates a brand new one built on the support and commitment of the community.

"We want everyone to help and to date that has been great. We can only build on that," says Rhona. "There's a lot of love for this hospice and I would say nearly every family in south Glasgow has been touched by it.

"To actually put those messages onto a heart, put them into the foundations of the build and know that every single day we walk over that path up into the hospice that all those messages of love are underneath is absolutely brilliant.

"It is also important for the families to come as well because many of them we deal with have had two or three people in the hospice over the past 31 years.

"That's why there is great love and ownership of the hospice. It's a community."

Construction is expected to start on the site in June 2016 with Rhona and her team getting the keys to the new build in February 2018.

The benefits of the new hospice are endless.

"Our challenge for the future is to widen access to absolutely anybody who has a life-limiting or terminal illness, including cancer, but all conditions and all ages," says Rhona.

"That's quite a challenge and what we need to do is make sure we have a suitable environment for people of every age and condition, and that's what the new hospice will do.

It's an age-appropriate environment that will now be from 15 years and upwards as we lower our age to look after young people."

It took nearly two years of consultation with architects, staff, patients, families and volunteers to plan and design the building that will take the shape of four houses.

"We looked at what our needs are just now and in the future. We're making an environment suitable to house that care," says Rhona.

"It's giving us flexibility into the future to make sure that no matter what our patients and families present with we can deliver care."

One of the biggest improvements will be the outdoor space.

"Every bedroom will be single but we will have the opportunity to open up both sides so that it can be a private or communal space," carries on Rhona.

"All of those bedrooms will have access to private outside space which really will be immeasurable.

"We will have a big increase in family facilities, our families are encouraged if they so wish to stay 24 hours if they need to, so we will have more family facilities and private spaces.

"There is a big emphasis on age-specific space so no matter what age you are or how you're feeling there will be somewhere for you to go, just to either have peace and quiet or be in the thick of things where there is a lot of people.

"As well as a big emphasis on family, as there always has been, there will be a focus on sanctuary and quiet spaces for contemplation."

The new hospice is based on the Scandinavian sengetun model that looks at the patient, their family and the community.

"We think it will change the way people live until they die because as soon as you go into this building you will see a fireplace, there are chimneys on the outside, and it has a domestic-sized front door. And all of that is so that people can come into an environment that is as far away as a healthcare facility as you can think," says Rhona.

"It looks very homely with water features, soft lighting and lots of lovely communal and private areas.

"This is a 21st century facility with every single piece of equipment you can think of that we would require, but it will all just be hidden nicely so that people come in they feel immediately relaxed."

Donate online at www.ppwh.org.uk/donate