Xavier Gómez-Batiste receives the EAPC Cicely Saunders Award for his contributions to the field of palliative care

Xavier Gómez-Batiste, director of the Chair in Palliative Care at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) and a professor in the university's Faculty of Medicine, has been awarded the EAPC Cicely Saunders Award 2024 for his contributions to the field of palliative care. The award, conferred by the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC), was announced on Wednesday 13 December. Gómez-Batiste will present the paper entitled "Enhancing the Psychosocial and Spiritual Dimensions of Palliative Care" to the EAPC Congress that will be held in Barcelona from 16 to 18 May 2024, and for which registration is now open.

The EAPC Cicely Saunders Award was established in 2020, and is conferred every two years on people who have made an extensive contribution to palliative care during their career, either in research and clinical practice or in an organisation or institution, and who have made a difference in the practice of these treatments. The award is named after Cicely Saunders (London, 1918-2005), the pioneer of palliative care and the founder in 1965 of St. Christopher's Hospice in London, the first centre for the terminally ill providing palliative care in the London area. The recipient of the award is chosen by the Scientific Committee of the EAPC, and this decision is subsequently ratified by the Board of Directors of Cicely Saunders International.

The winners of the previous two editions of the EAPC Cicely Saunders Award were the professors Catherine Walshe (2022) and Sheila Payne (2020).

The EAPC Cicely Saunders Award was established in 2020, and is conferred every two years on people who have made an extensive contribution to palliative care during their career, either in research and clinical practice or in an organisation or institution, and who have made a difference in the practice of these treatments. The award is named after Cicely Saunders (London, 1918-2005), the pioneer of palliative care and the founder in 1965 of St. Christopher's Hospice in London, the first centre for the terminally ill providing palliative care in the London area. The recipient of the award is chosen by the Scientific Committee of the EAPC, and this decision is subsequently ratified by the Board of Directors of Cicely Saunders International.

The winners of the previous two editions of the EAPC Cicely Saunders Award were the professors Catherine Walshe (2022) and Sheila Payne (2020).

A long professional career

Xavier Gómez-Bastiste Alentorn is a doctor specialising in internal medicine and oncology, and an expert in palliative medicine. A professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UVic-UCC and the director of the UVic-UCC Palliative Care Chair since 2012, he is also director of the university master's degree in Palliative Care at the university. He has also been the scientific director of the Programme for comprehensive care for people with advanced illnesses and their relatives at the 'La Caixa' Obra Social charitable foundation since 2008. 

Gómez-Batiste was Director Emeritus of the 'Qualy' Observatory, a collaborating centre of the World Health Organization (WHO) for public palliative care programmes - Catalan Institute of Oncology (2007-2020), and Medical Officer for Palliative and Long-Term Care at the WHO (2014-2015).

Gómez-Batiste was also head of the Palliative Care Service at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (1991-2008). He was a founder and vice-president of the EAPC (1996-2000); a founder and president of the Catalan-Balearic Palliative Care Society (1989-1992), and a founder and president of the Spanish Palliative Care Society (SECPAL) (2003-2008), among other organisations. His published works include more than 140 scientific articles and over 70 international articles.