The APM is structured with various committees, each of which is responsible for overseeing distinct aspects of the organisation’s mission.
Please note, you can learn more about our Terms of Reference here:
Terms of Reference
APM Council
The APM Council is entrusted with the responsibility of managing the organisation’s day-to-day operations. This includes determining membership criteria, organising general meetings and study days, and engaging in negotiations with external organisations on behalf of the APM.
See who represents you below:
Photo credits: Ricky Parker Photography
Dr Suzanne Kite
President
Professor Paul Paes
Vice President
Dr Matthew Doré
Honorary Secretary
Dr Natasha Wiggins
Treasurer
Dr Sarah Cox
President Support
Dr Aoife Gleeson
Wales Representative
Dr Bernadette Brady
Ireland Representative
Dr Natasha Lovell
Elected Council Member
Dr Helen Bonwick, OBE
Elected Council Member
Dr Wendy Prentice
Elected Council Member
Charlotte Tanswell
Compleat Secretariat
Lay Chair
Paul Perkins
Lay Trustee (EDI)
Trudie Roiz de Sa
Lay Trustee (Finance)
Sol Otchere
Committee Chairs
- Dr Suzie Gillon, Education and Training Committee
- Dr Angus Grant, Junior Committee
- Dr Ebun Abarshi, Clinical Quality Committee
- Dr Andrew Thorns, Research and Ethics Committee
- Dr Ollie Minton, Communications Committee
- Dr Katie Jerram & Dr Paul Selway, SAS & Hospice Doctors Committee
- Dr Becky Ogundele, Trainee’s Committee
- Dr Qamar Abbas, Race Equity Committee
- Dr Esraa Sulaivany, EDI Committee
- Prof Paul Paes, (interim Chair) Workforce Committee
Elected Members
- Dr Aoife Gleeson, Wales Representative
- Dr Helen Bonwick, England Representative
- Dr Bernadette Brady, Republic of Ireland Representative
- Dr Matthew Doré, Northern Ireland Representative
- Dr Fiona MacCormick, Scotland Representative
- Dr Natasha Lovell, Council Member
- Dr Wendy Prentice, Council Member
Dr Suzanne Kite – President
Suzanne is the President of the Association for Palliative Medicine, and was appointed to this role in March 2025 following two years as Vice President. Suzanne trained in Yorkshire and London before taking up a new Palliative Medicine consultant post at Leeds Teaching Hospitals in 2000, becoming clinical lead in 2007. Early interests and involvement in APM medical education, ethics and professional development evolved into leadership roles, locally, regionally and nationally.
Quality improvement, collaborative multiprofessional working, and empowering clinical teams underpin all of these, and embedding best possible palliative care for all across a large acute trust based on several sites has been one of her greatest and most rewarding challenges. She has also contributed to, and witnessed, the progress that can be achieved in the quality and access to palliative care services across a locality through steady, sustained partnership working between service providers, service users and commissioners. Leading local nationally funded pilots, including EPaCCS, has been hugely beneficial in developing this approach.
Suzanne was Regional Palliative and Palliative & EoLC Clinical co-lead for the Yorkshire & the Humber for 5 years from 2014, where she championed multiprofessional leadership, building networks, developing leaders, co-production, and sharing good practice. As co-clinical lead, with a senior nursing colleague, for the National Audit for Care at the End of Life from 2017-22 she furthered quality improvement and benchmarking of care of the dying in hospitals. She feels very fortunate to have chosen such an amazing specialty, to have a really rewarding and varied career, and to work with such excellent palliative care people.
Her current priorities include:
- Championing equity, diversity and inclusion
- Promoting a listening culture, developing the conversation on key topics including assisted dying; workforce; funding, and the future of multiprofessional palliative care
- Encouraging member engagement
- Supporting the development of members throughout their careers
- Developing and championing clinical leaders
- Effective collaboration at national level to develop the evidence-base and to ensure: clinical leadership of high quality palliative care services for all across all settings; sustainable workforce, and funding
Prof Paul Paes – Vice President
Paul is Professor of Education and Palliative Care at Newcastle University and a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust. He was first appointed as a Consultant in 2005, having trained in the Oxford Deanery, and has worked in both the independent and NHS sectors. He has held a number of clinical leadership roles, leading the trust Palliative Care service for 6 years building a large integrated service before taking on wider trust roles including the last 6 years as Associate Medical Director leading community services. Academic medicine is a key interest, and he has recently been appointed as Head of the School of Medicine at Newcastle University. Outside work, he has a busy life with three children, a dog and playing sport whenever he can!
On being appointed as Vice President, Paul said “I am hugely honoured to be elected by our members to the role of Vice President. Palliative Medicine is a wonderful specialty- varied, unpredictable, drawing on a wide range of skills and attracting great colleagues. It’s important we continue to present a positive image of our specialty while addressing some major challenges. Our specialty has never had a higher profile, and with that the opportunity perhaps to develop palliative and end of life care in a way that has not been possible for some time. I’m looking forward to hearing people’s ideas and supporting the President and APM leadership team in developing our specialty further”.
Dr Matthew Doré – Honorary Secretary
Who is he? A question pondered by many, including himself. A genuine doctor, he initially dabbled in renal and immunology before finding his calling in palliative care training in the West Midlands. Sporting a near-bald head, he blames stress on his 10-year-old twins and feral 6-year-old child. His patient wife, Sharon, brought him to Northern Ireland, where he’s grown quite fond of the place.
He enjoys reading, writing, and solitude, though peace and quiet seem elusive. As pasta boils over and piano practice and Mario Kart fill the air, he finds solace in whisky. Proud of his accomplishments, such as making a top-notch chicken pie, chairing the PCC, co-leading the clinical ECHO, participating in ethics committees, and occasionally writing useful articles, he mainly cherishes that chicken pie. As Honorary Secretary, he wonders what could possibly go wrong.
Dr Natasha Wiggins – Treasurer
Introducing our new APM Treasurer, Natasha Wiggins.
Starting in October 2022, Natasha is a Palliative Medicine consultant at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Her impressive leadership includes chairing the EOL guidelines and medicines group for the Integrated Care Board, leading the Digital EOL group, and heading an education programme for South West England paramedics. At her Trust, she built a palliative care team, established a clinical ethics committee, and managed budgets and charitable funds.
Natasha succeeds Derek Willis, who significantly supported membership growth. We expect her to excel as APM Treasurer, with a smoother handover than Kwasi to Jeremy. She resides in Oxfordshire’s first eco-village with her husband and children, aged 5 and 2.
Natasha shares, “I’m eager to take on this role – big shoes to fill, but it’s a chance for fresh eyes and new ideas. Thank you, Derek, for your stellar work and patience with my many questions.”