GREENOCK health centre staff are set to pay a touching tribute to their late colleague who tragically died from coronavirus three years ago.

Inverclyde nurse Janice Graham became the first Scottish NHS worker to die from Covid-19 when she passed away in April 2020 at the age of just 58.

Greenock Health and Care centre bosses honoured Janice’s memory in 2021 by naming a wing of the medical facility after her.

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Now Janice’s former co-workers are planning to hold a fundraising charity night to raise money for a worthy cause that was close to the much-missed health worker’s cash.

Nursing assistant Dawn Barilli and her colleagues have organised a night of fun at Greenock’s Cruden Hall on June 23 to raise cash for Crohn's and Colitis UK.

The team are looking for local businesses to help sponsor the night.

Dawn said: “When Janice passed away, we said we wanted to do a fundraiser in her memory for Crohn’s and Colitis but because of Covid we haven’t been able to do it until this year.

“We’ve got the event booked for 200 people in Cruden Hall, it sold out in about 24 hours.

“Janice was very well known and very popular.

“We’ve looking for a sponsor for the event and raffle prizes.

“If any local businesses want to sponsor us that’d be a big help, a donation will help us pay for the food on the night without taking from the proceeds.

“We’ve been really pleased with the support we’ve had. Cruden Hall have given us free hall hire and we’ve had local DJs and people who decorate giving us their time for free as well.

“We’re looking for local businesses to get behind this because the more support we have the more money we can raise.”

Janice’s workmates have organised a variety of stalls and activities for the night, including raffles and a tombola.

Dawn feels that the charity night will be a fitting way to remember Janice.

Greenock Telegraph: Janice Graham

She added: “It’s a good way to pay tribute to her, she loved a night out.

“Janice was so fun and outgoing.

“She was a very caring person, anyone who was looked after by her can vouch for that.

“We still talk about her every day, she was a very big character.

“None of us were allowed to attend her funeral due to the services, so we had a big tribute to her here during the pandemic and we’ve got her garden at the health centre that I maintain.

“She’s around us all the time, everywhere we go in the health centre there’s something that reminds us of her.

“We’ve hoping that once everything’s sorted, we can all have a wee dance and enjoy the night the way Janice would have wanted.

“We just want it to be as fun as possible and make as much money as we can.”