The Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre brings together researchers, health and social care professionals from a range of disciplines, patients, families and members of the public to find and help deliver the best palliative care services and treatments.
About us
We conduct palliative care research, and provide education and information relevant to the needs of people living with and dying from serious illness, their families and communities. We aim to improve quality of life and reduce inequalities in care, especially those driven by socio-economic status and diagnosis.
We are committed to involving patients, carers, families and local communities as active partners in shaping our research. We want to make sure that people with many different perspectives and experiences have the chance to influence what we do and how we do it. This helps us to focus on what really matters to people.
We aim to acknowledge all who have contributed to our work; University of Hull is signed up to the Science Council’s Technical Commitment initiative – and we implement this approach.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is the active total care of people with progressive, life-limiting illness to help them to live well through control of symptoms, support for psychological, social and spiritual concerns and care for their families and friends.
Palliative care can be applied as an extra layer of care alongside treatment of medical conditions which aims to cure or prolong life. It should be available according to need, and not restricted by diagnosis or prognosis.
Annual report
Download our Annual Report: 2021 to 2022 (PDF)
Discover more about our Centre and our research
The work of the Centre is making a real difference to patient’s lives – and their families too.
Discover more about our inspirational people and our impactful research through our pages below.
If you are inspired by our research and you would like to collaborate, visit or study with us, please do get in touch: WolfsonPallCare@hyms.ac.uk
Latest Wolfson news
Consultant respiratory physicians from Australia welcomed
We were delighted to host Dr Tracy Smith and Dr Belinda Cochrane from Sydney, Australia to visit us on 6 to 8 March 2023. They are consultant respiratory physicians with an interest in breathlessness management, and have completed clinical studies evaluating their clinical practice. We had a good time creating connections and collaborations with members of Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre and our local collaborators at Academic Respiratory Medicine at Hull University Hospitals NHS Trust. We look forward to working further together.
Professor Fliss Murtagh delivers keynote speech for the McGill International Congress on Palliative Care
Fliss was delighted to be keynote speaker for the McGill International Congress on Palliative Care, in Montréal, 18 to 21 October 2022. The congress is the longest running palliative care congress in the field. Founded in 1976 by Dr Balfour Mount and colleagues, it brings together over 1,500 delegates from more than 65 countries to participate. It is very interdisciplinary; every other year physicians, researchers, nurses, psychologists, social workers, pharmacists, music therapists, art therapists, physical therapists and volunteers gather from around the globe to learn together. You can keep up to date with the Congress by joining their mailing list.
Progressing connections with Japan
We were delighted to welcome Professor Yoshiyuki Kizawa, who visited us in September 2022. He is Director of the Department of Palliative and Supportive Care at the University of Tsukuba Hospital and Professor of Palliative Medicine at the University of Tsukuba, Faculty of Medicine. He has recently been re-elected as President of the Japanese Society for Palliative Medicine in Japan (which has over 12,000 members) and has made substantial contributions to palliative care education across Japan, as well as research into advance care planning and decision making. We look forward to progressing our connections with Japan.