Palliative Care Week 2026 Aims to Correct Common Misunderstandings About Palliative Care

2727 July 2026

Campaign to encourage people to think about what palliative care is to enable earlier access to supports that improve daily quality of life

Palliative Care All Ireland Practice Conference to further explore how palliative care services are transforming experiences of illness, care and living well

The All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) is encouraging people throughout the island of Ireland to think about what palliative care is, and how it could positively support their lives, or the lives of their loved ones, now and in the future.

AIIHPC’s thirteenth annual Palliative Care Week will run from Sunday, 6 to Saturday, 12 September. The all island public awareness campaign theme ‘It’s Not What You Think’, aims to dispel common misunderstandings and highlight the broad benefits of palliative care for people with life-limiting conditions and their families.

Minister for Health NI, Mike Nesbitt MLA will address the Palliative Care All Ireland Practice Conference at the Canal Court Hotel in Newry on Tuesday, 8 September. The conference will hear about developments in palliative care practice across the island of Ireland, including Dr Elizabeth Morrow, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland on Rehabilitative Palliative Care and Dr Emma Lundy, Evora Hospice Care on Motor neurone disease and palliative care. The event will bring together health and social care professionals, researchers, educators, students, policy makers, volunteers and community organisations. The conference themes will cover living well with life limiting illnesses and palliative care in our communities, aligned to this year’s overall campaign theme.

AIIHPC Chief Executive Officer, Karen Charnley believes the current narrative around palliative support needs to change.

“People often hear the words palliative care and assume it means someone is coming near to the end of their life,” Charnley said. “That misunderstanding means people with life- limiting conditions are missing out on the wide range of physical, social, spiritual and emotional supports available that could make their daily routines much more comfortable. We hope that the theme for this year ‘It’s not what you think’ will encourage people to think about what palliative care can offer so that people can live well with a serious illness. Because, in reality, palliative care is about living as well as possible whilst having a life-limiting condition.”

AIIHPC Chair and Chief Executive Officer, St. Francis Hospice, Fintan Fagan, added:

“Palliative Care Week provides an important opportunity each year to raise awareness and share information about the breadth of supports that palliative care can offer and the positive impact on those who need it and their families, carers and loved ones. The week also highlights the growing integration of palliative care within communities, recognising the value of local, coordinated supports that enable people to receive care in familiar surroundings and remain connected to their communities.”

This year’s campaign emphasises that palliative care focuses on meeting the physical, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of people of all ages. It is not exclusive to cancer patients, nor is it only about end of life. The wide range of services can range from symptom management for pain to rehabilitative palliative care to support people to continue with daily activities through to complementary and creative arts therapies and assistance with treatment decisions and planning for the future. Furthermore, this care is provided by a wide array of professionals across hospitals, hospices, nursing homes and in people’s homes.

The public is encouraged to visit www.thepalliativecarehub.com to learn more about the palliative care, with resources available for adults, children, family carers and health professionals.

ENDS

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Claire – 085 800 1275 / claire@communicationsclinic.ie

Notes to Editors:

Download a fact sheet about Palliative Care

For more information about the Palliative Care All Ireland Practice Conference here. 

About the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care

The All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) is a collaborative of hospices, health and social care organisations, universities and charities on the island of Ireland. AIIHPC’s aim, with our twenty-six member organisations, is to ensure excellent palliative care is available for everyone at the right time and place across the island of Ireland.

AIIHPC works with a group of visionary partners who recognise the value of working together to achieve a better, richer experience of palliative care for people with life-limiting conditions. The organisation’s 27 members (15 Republic of Ireland / 12 Northern Ireland) are:

.      Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

∙      Dublin City University

∙      Dublin University Trinity College

.      Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation

.      Midlands Palliative Care Alliance

∙      Evora Hospice Care

∙      Foyle Hospice

∙      Galway Hospice Foundation

∙      Irish Hospice Foundation

∙      Irish Cancer Society

∙      LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice

∙      Marie Curie

∙      Marymount University Hospital & Hospice

∙      Milford Care Centre

∙      Northern Health and Social Care Trust

∙      Northern Ireland Hospice

∙      Northwest Hospice

∙      Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services

∙      Public Health Agency

∙      Queen’s University Belfast

∙      Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

∙      South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

∙      Southern Health and Social Care Trust

∙      St. Francis Hospice

∙      Ulster University

∙      University College Dublin

∙      Western Health and Social Care Trust

AIIHPC receives funding from a range of sources, including member organisations, the HSE, the Public Health Agency, the Health Research Board, and the Health and Social Care R&D Division, Public Health Agency.