Hugh Galloway is pictured second from right, above

A golfer who received a life-threatening heart diagnosis after collapsing on a course in Spain has taken to the fairway to raise money for the team who saved his life at NHS Golden Jubilee.

Hugh Galloway, 75, from Dumbarton, suffered a blackout on the Santa Clara golf course in Malaga when playing with friends on their golf holiday in 2022.

Hugh, who is retired from the Ministry of Defence at the HM Naval Base Clyde in Helensburgh, was playing in his friends’ annual golf tour ‘The Spanish 8’ and were on the last day of their trip when he fell ill.

He flew home that night and visited a doctor the next day who sent him to the Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria.

From there he went on to spend 5 weeks at the Royal Alexandra and Golden Jubilee University National hospitals, before receiving a vital aortic valve replacement at the Golden Jubilee in June 2022.

Hugh has since gone on to make a full recovery and decided to give back to the team who gave him a fresh lease on life by using an annual charity golf event to support NHS Golden Jubilee.

He said: “My friend Donnie Bellshaw has been running an annual charity golf day at my local course Dumbarton for several years now and I asked him if he could run it this year to raise funds for the Golden Jubilee.

“I agreed with him that whatever was raised from the golf day, I would match it. Between the event, my contribution and some very generous support from loved ones and a sweep for the Women’s world Cup, that we have raised more than £3,700.

“I’m so grateful to everyone for their support and donations. After everything I went through, I really wanted to thank everyone in the team at the Golden Jubilee for my life-saving treatment, and to all the other staff across the NHS who gave me the best care I could have asked for.

“They will all have a special place in my heart, which is doing much better now thanks to them.”

Donnie Bellshaw, Head of HSE for the Defence and Security Operating Unit of engineering services company, Jacobs, said: “I have been extremely fortunate to be part of a team working at HM Naval Base Clyde that includes both Jacobs and Mott MacDonald, where we developed a really strong social values team dedicated to raising funds for local charities.

“The success that we have had over the years has been outstanding due to the commitment of the team and the support from management.

“When Hugh approached me, it really was a no-brainer and the whole team got to work planning the event. All of this was also only possible thanks to the fantastic support of those that turned up on the day to play and support the event, and the financial support from both organisations.

“We are really looking forward to continuing our support to the Cardiac unit at the Golden Jubilee for all the fantastic work they do.”

Based in Clydebank, NHS Golden Jubilee is home to world class heart and lung services, providing advanced heart failure therapies to patients throughout Scotland, from the Borders to the Shetland Islands.

Cardiothoracic Consultant Hari Doshi, who carried out Hugh’s procedure, said: “Everyone in the team is extremely grateful to Hugh and his friends for thinking of us and raising such a massive amount of money for the Golden Jubilee.

“Donations like this help us better patient experiences for people, and their families, going through very difficult and sometimes uncertain times.

“Our services not only save lives, but help people like Hugh get back to doing the things he loves doing in life and we’re very happy and proud to provide this treatment at NHS Golden Jubilee.”

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