6 November 2025
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has partnered with the UK’s leading end of life charity, Marie Curie, to fund a grant for new research aimed at improving the delivery of palliative and end of life care in Emergency Departments.
A grant of up to £20,000 will be equally funded by RCEM and Marie Curie.
Emergency Departments are often the first point of contact for patients nearing the end of life because of sudden, unpredictable medical emergencies, or because of a deteriorating chronic disease.
Yet these busy and high-pressure environments can present challenges in providing dignified, personalised care, especially in the backdrop of overcrowding, corridor care and long waits.
The Marie Curie Better End of Life 2024 survey found half of all respondents said their dying loved one visited A&E at least once in their final three months of life, and one in eight people who died in hospital had been there less than 24 hours.
The survey, conducted across England and Wales, found too many people who are close to death end up in a busy ED, because there isn’t access to appropriate care at home, in the community or in a care home.
This partnership aims to improve the care these patients receive through high quality, implementation focused research.
Applications are now open to all RCEM members and fellows in good standing. The lead applicant must be an RCEM member or fellow. Further details of the grant and how to apply are available here.
The deadline to submit an application is 8am Monday 6th April 2026.
Applications will then be reviewed by a joint RCEM / Marie Curie Funding Committee.
Professor Matt Reed, chair of the RCEM Research and Publication Committee, said: “For our members and their colleagues, it can be heartbreaking to see people who are nearing the end of their lives having to seek help, treatment and commonly pain relief in our departments – which are bright, overcrowded and noisy environments.
“This partnership with Marie Curie represents an important step to improve the care these patients, and their families receive in Emergency Departments across the UK, with dignity, compassion and respect.
“Through the research grants that will be awarded, vital evidence will be gathered to inform clinicians of best practice.
“It’s an honour to partner with Marie Curie to make a real difference to patients, families and our Emergency Department workforce.”
Dr Sabine Best, Associate Director of Research Grants Management and Impact, Marie Curie, said:
“Improving palliative and end of life care in hospital, including the Emergency Department, is an area of great interest for both Marie Curie services and our research investment. Previous research, as well as people with lived and professional experience, have told us that more work needs to be done to support people at the end of life in the ED.
Research priorities for both Marie Curie and RCEM strongly align on this topic. End of life care was identified as the fifth priority in the 2022 refresh of the James Lind Alliance (JLA) emergency medicine priority setting partnership (PSP). Meanwhile, improving the quality of palliative and end of life care in hospital was identified as the eighth priority in the palliative and end of life care JLA PSP, launched in February 2025.
We’re delighted to partner with RCEM to co-fund practice- and impact-focused research that can directly enhance patient experience, clinical outcomes, or service delivery for people with palliative and end of life care needs in the ED.”