AFTER four years of fabulous fundraising, the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice is hoping Glasgow will get behind its final push for cash to build a brand new, state-of-the-art home.

The Evening Times-backed Brick by Brick Appeal is nearing the finishing line, with just £2.8m of the £21m total left to raise.

Now hospice chief executive Rhona Baillie and her team are hoping for one last Olympic effort from the people of the city.

Rhona explains: “When the Brick by Brick Appeal launched in September 2012 we asked the people of Glasgow to help us build their hospice and they didn’t let us down.

Read more: £25,000 donation to fund therapy room at new hospice

“The support from the city – and Glaswegians around the world - has been phenomenal. I still find it incredible to think that four years on we are now starting work on the site.”

Rhona admits it has been a ‘long journey’ since the decision was taken to replace the hospice’s current home on the banks of the Clyde with a purpose-built centre set in around eight acres of land in Bellahouston Park.

“But it has been worth it, every step of the way,” she adds.

“At the moment we are trying to provide 21st century palliative care in a 19th century building - to continue to improve and expand our services we need space and up-to-date surroundings that only a new build can offer.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice was founded as a charitable trust called the New Glasgow Hospice by the late Dr Anne Gilmore, a former Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year, in 1981. It was gifted to Prince Charles and Princess Diana as a wedding present, the idea of then Lord Provost Michael Kelly.

It cares for more than 1200 patients and families each year and has now outgrown its much-loved home at Carlton Place, on the banks of the River Clyde in the city centre, and hopes to begin moving patients to the new purpose-built facility in the spring of 2018.

Read more: £25,000 donation to fund therapy room at new hospic

Rhona has been involved in every stage of the design process, including planning individual rooms which open on to a shared courtyard space, accommodation for families and facilities to care for young people aged from 15 years.

“When we move, we will become the first hospice in the country able to move teenagers on to adult care,” says Rhona.

“Our IPU facilities at Carlton Place are fantastic but to be able to offer patients, especially young people, the privacy of their own room and space to have friends and family to visit and stay over will be fantastic.”

The Evening Times helped to launch the Brick by Brick Appeal in September 2012, when TV presenter Carol Smillie was delighted to lend her support.

"It's a stunning building and very sympathetic to the existing landscape,” she said, on being shown the plans and scale model.

At the launch, other celebrities and business leaders, including TV and radio presenters Kaye Adams and Heather Suttie, Glasgow jeweller Stuart Laing, comedian Karen Dunbar and actress and writer Libby McArthur.

Evening Times readers took the Brick by Brick Appeal to their hearts and the money came pouring in. Less than eight months later, the first million had been banked and staff were overwhelmed by the support from ordinary Glaswegians.

In May 2015, Breaking Bad actress Laura Fraser put the first spade in the ground on the new site, as the hospice launched a bid to raise the final £333,000 of £1m needed to lay the foundations.

Hospice supporters were asked to make a donation and write a message on a heart. The hearts were gathered together in a sealed chest and placed under the front door of the new building, with a plaque to mark the spot.

In August last year, Glasgow’s schoolchildren raised more than £70,000 to fund a young person’s bedroom in the new hospice and three months later, Rhona and the team announced that £16m had been raised so far, leaving just £5m to go.

In February this year, Ryder Architecture was appointed to begin the detailed design and delivery phase of the new hospice, while the people of Glasgow continued to fundraise and raise awareness of the hospice in spectacular ways.

Read more: £25,000 donation to fund therapy room at new hospic

In April, Harvey the Hospice Heart – aka appeal star fundraiser Frank Gilroy – broke the world record for the fastest charity mascot time at the London Marathon for the second time. With his team of supporters, he has £100,000 for the Brick by Brick Appeal.

As construction finally begins on site, the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice is about to launch an exciting new fundraising campaign for the remaining £2.8m needed to hit the target.

Details will be revealed at the end of the month but at the heart of it, once again, will be the people of Glasgow.

Rhona explains: “We need everyone to stay with us and continue to support us.

Read more: £25,000 donation to fund therapy room at new hospic

“We can’t thank them all enough for getting us this far, but we still have £2.8m to raise to create our new home and make it comfortable for all of our patients and families.”

She smiles: “We’re nearly there, Glasgow - thanks so much for all your support. Now please stay with us until we get the hospice built.”