The impact of palliative care policy on practice - Experiences from the WHO European Region.

Originally a nurse, Julie has worked in palliative care for thirty-five years in both adult and children’s palliative care. She has held a variety of posts in clinical care, management, research, policy and the voluntary sector. She completed a PhD by research and has an MBA from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

In 2025, she was the recipient of the Floriani Foundation Award from the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), where she gave a plenary lecture entitled “Strengthening palliative care: The essential role of nurses”. Julie was CEO of the EAPC for ten years. During this time, she guided the EAPC through some challenging times, working with the board and her team to ensure its long-term sustainability. During her tenure, Julie focused on ensuring robust organisational and financial governance and stronger engagement with EAPC members. She was also successful in obtaining European Union funding as both a partner in more than twenty EU-funded projects and by securing two EU operational grants for the EAPC.

In her current role as Technical Officer for Palliative Care at the World Health Organisation European regional office in Copenhagen, Julie provides technical support to member states on the development and strengthening of palliative.

This lecture is being organised by the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast and the All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care.

Registration for the event will begin at 6:00 PM, accompanied by light refreshments. The lecture will start at 6:30 PM, followed by additional refreshments at 7:45 PM.