A beloved member of hospital staff has left a legacy of over £11,000 for cancer care after he and his family held a fundraising drive.
Joe Spiers, who worked at University Hospital Hairmyres in East Kilbride, sadly died in September due to a rare blood cancer.
At a moving event in the hospital, his 12-year-old twin grandsons presented £5,550 to be shared between the cancer units in NHS Lanarkshire, the health board that runs Hairmyres.
The twins, Callum and Ross, also handed over a cheque for the same amount to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where Joe was treated with stem cell therapy.
Much of the donation came from a charity dinner dance that Joe was determined to hold despite his ailing health. The event was brought forward by five months in the hope Joe would be well enough to attend, but he passed away just two weeks before it.
Despite their grief, his wife Karen and the couple’s son and daughter, John and Jacqueline, went ahead with the fundraising gathering in memory of Joe, who was a project manager with ISS, the facilities management company at Hairmyres.
The couple, who lived in Airdrie for many years before moving to Lanark, had agreed the dinner in Coatbridge should go ahead even if Joe wasn’t there to see it.
In a poignant message in the event programme, Joe, 56, wrote: “Karen and I have so many people to thank for the care and support shown to us and our family – thank you for standing with us.
“The nurses in oncology have been incredibly friendly while remaining professional and I now regard them as friends. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
Karen said: “Joe was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in May 2024. He had regular blood checks with the Hairmyres oncology team and blood and platelet transfusions on a regular basis.
“In March, he had a stem cell transplant in ward 4B at the Queen Elizabeth. Although he felt well after it, we were told in August that the transplant hadn’t worked and we were on borrowed time.
“Joe was immensely grateful to all the teams who helped care for him and wanted to give back to the NHS. We’d arranged the charity dinner dance for 25 March, a year on from his transplant. We then brought the date forward to 17 October, hoping Joe would be well enough to attend. Sadly, he was admitted to University Hospital Wishaw and passed away on 29 September.
“I’d promised Joe that his charity night would still go ahead,” explained Karen, 63, a retired bank worker.
“It was incredibly difficult but something I was proud to do as I knew how much it had meant to Joe. He had a programme made up and had bought pens to give to his guests on the night.
“The charity night tickets were sold to colleagues, friends and family. We had a three-course meal prepared by Alan Boslem, who was formerly a chef at the prestigious Gleneagles Hotel, as well as a band, raffles and an auction of a few special items.
“His ISS colleagues also had an event for Joe. They had bikes and running machines in the atrium at Hairmyres. That alone raised £1,100. It was put together with the money raised on the charity night, making £11,100 to be split between the two organisations.
“Ward 4B at the Queen Elizabeth have said they’re extremely grateful for the donation and that they already have plans to invest in enhancements for their patients.”
Erin McEwan, Deputy Site Director at University Hospital Hairmyres, said: “Joe was more than a valued member of our team – he was an inspiration to everyone who knew him.
“He demonstrated extraordinary courage, resilience and generosity, and his selfless commitment to charity and fundraising, even while facing his own challenges, touched countless lives and reminded us of the power of compassion and community. He showed us what it means to give wholeheartedly and his efforts will continue to make a difference far beyond his time with us.
“Joe will be greatly missed but his example will live on in the work we do and the lives we strive to improve.”
Joe’s family are encouraging Scots to join the stem cell donor register. Organ Donation Scotland says there are two routes to do this:
- People aged 16-30 can register on the website of the Anthony Nolan Trust https://www.anthonynolan.org/help-save-a-life/join-stem-cell-register.
- People aged 17-55 can register on the website of DKMS UK, the British arm of the global non-profit organisation dedicated to fighting blood cancer https://www.dkms.org.uk/register-now.
