A NEW hub has opened in North Ayrshire to support those with a life-limiting illness.

The Ayrshire Hospice has established a weekly Living Well Hub in Kilwinning after opening in the town’s Dirrans Centre on Tuesday (May 7).

The hub is an eight-week rolling programme which aims to support, inform and enable those living with a life-limiting illness.

Heather Hardie, living well team manager, said: “Since our first Living Well Hub in the community in 2021, the goal was to have a Living Well Hub that was accessible to our patients in communities across Ayrshire.

“With the opening in Kilwinning, along with Cumnock and Maybole, that has been achieved and allows the Hospice to integrate more within the local community we serve.”

With this opening, it now means there is a Living Well Hub in North, East and South Ayrshire available to patients and closer to them.

Currently, the geographical split of Ayrshire Hospice patients is 37 per cent from North Ayrshire, 34 per cent from South Ayrshire and 29 per cent from East Ayrshire.

One patient who attends the Hub said: “I love attending the Living Well Hub, meeting new people who have become really good friends.

"We support each other, we laugh together, helping to boost our confidence, sharing stories and life experiences and making memories.”

The aim of the new initiative is to provide a space to meet some like-minded people in a friendly, relaxed environment to help take the first steps on a living well journey.

For more information about the Living Well Service and how to self-refer, visit Ayrshire Hospice's website at ayrshirehospice.org.