June 2025
Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end of life charity, has launched a new £900,000 funding partnership with Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity and Leeds Hospitals Charity to fund research into improving palliative and end of life care experiences in hospital.
The Marie Curie Research Grants Scheme is now inviting applications for research aiming to improve quality of care, and discharge, for people with palliative and end of life care needs in hospital.
Marie Curie research has already identified that of all the people who die in England and Wales each year, over a third die in hospital1. The majority of these people don’t want or need to be there; just 6% of people expressed preference to die in hospital in 20242. However, key gaps remain in understanding the quality of the palliative care delivered in hospitals and how to improve it.
Dr Sabine Best, Associate Director Research Management and Impact at Marie Curie, said: “Research that specifically looks into end of life care in hospitals is an area which has been overlooked too often and for far too long. Especially given the vast numbers of people dying in hospital, or visiting a hospital in their final months of life.
“This research call shows our commitment to improving the quality of palliative care in hospital – whether this means enabling people a good death in hospital or supporting patients to be discharged with dignity and care.”
Within the £900,000 funding, £300,000 (a joint fund from Leeds Hospitals Charity and Marie Curie), is available for research at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, where approximately 3000 adult patients die every year. [NP10]This is just less than 50% of all adult deaths in Leeds annually.
Additionally, £200,000 of the funding (a joint fund from Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals charity and Marie Curie) will be allocated to research focusing on improving end of life experiences for people with heart or lung disease in hospital.
“We hope this research will provide greater evidence and help us enhance and adapt Leeds Hospital services to better support dying patients and their families.
“Marie Curie’s approach aligns with our values and together we can transform outcomes for patients and families in Leeds.”
“It is very exciting for us to partner with Marie Curie and Leeds Hospitals Charity on this year’s Research Grants Scheme funding call.
“It is a privilege to work with such a renowned and experienced charity as Marie Curie who understand the importance of quality end of life care and we can’t wait to see applications from across the UK that focus on the palliative care and endoflife care needs of heart and lung patients.”
ENDS
Notes to editor
For further information please contact:
[email protected]
References:
1 Better End of Life 2024 – Time to care: Findings from a nationally representative survey of experiences at the end of life in England and Wales, Marie Curie, Sep 2024, https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/globalassets/media/documents/policy/beol-reports-2024/beol-2024-time-to-carereport.pdf
2 Public attitudes to death, dying and bereavement in the UK re-visited: 2023 survey, Marie Curie, October 2024, https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/globalassets/media/documents/policy/policypublications/2024/n401_padd_report_final.pdf
About Marie Curie
Marie Curie is the UK’s leading end of life charity and largest charitable funder of palliative and end of life care research. The charity provides expert end of life care for people with any illness they are likely to die from, and support for their family and friends, in our hospices and where they live. It is the largest charity funder of palliative and end of life care research in the UK, and campaigns to ensure everyone has a good end of life experience. Whatever the illness, we’re with you to the end.
About Leeds Hospitals Charity
Leeds Hospitals Charity champions, supports, and gives thanks to the NHS. We do this by funding life-saving equipment, treatments, research and home comforts – whatever will make the biggest impact to the people who need it most.
Our vision is for Leeds Teaching Hospitals to be the best hospital, in the healthiest city in the UK. We exist to support NHS staff across all eight of the Trust’s hospital sites, helping them to deliver first-class care for over a million patients and their families each year.
About Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity
Founded within the UK’s largest centre for heart and lung care, Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospital Charity provide specialist clinicians, academics and researchers with the funding, equipment and resources they need to better prevent, diagnose and treat heart and lung conditions.
We bring together world-class experts in medicine and research to uncover the answers we desperately need to change the tide of these life-shattering diseases. We can help make breakthroughs that ensure every patient gets the best possible treatment.
