03 Profile
Who Professor Fliss Murtagh is
Professor Fliss Murtagh is Professor of Palliative Care at Hull York Medical School, Director of the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre and an NIHR Senior Investigator. She qualified in medicine in 1986, worked in general practice for almost ten years, then trained in palliative medicine.
She was at King's College London's Cicely Saunders Institute from 2002 to 2017, where she completed her PhD, and she remains a Visiting Professor there. Her research covers palliative and end-of-life care needs, outcomes and resource use, especially for older people and people with non-cancer conditions such as advanced kidney disease. She co-leads the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care with Professor Katherine Sleeman.
She has argued publicly that almost one in three people in England die without the basic end-of-life care they need. She has also said that specialist palliative care improves quality of life and reduces pressure on the NHS.
Notable achievements
- 01
Awarded NIHR Senior Investigator status (originally April 2020 to March 2024). The current Director page still lists her as a Senior Investigator. Source ↗
- 02
Listed with Professor Miriam Johnson in the top 0.1% of scholars researching and publishing on palliative care, according to Expertscape (2021). Source ↗
- 03
Co-leads the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care (2024–2028) with Professor Katherine Sleeman of King's College London. Source ↗
- 04
One of three expert witnesses who gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee enquiry into the financial sustainability of adult hospices in England. Source ↗
- 05
One of the lead researchers on the Marie Curie-funded study estimating that about 170,000 people in England each year spend their final days in pain, distress or without vital support. Source ↗
