Does the Culture of Modern Day Palliative Care Social Work Leave Room for Leadership?

This paper describes research undertaken as part of an MA study in leadership. It draws on interviews with six high profile leaders at the fore front of end of life care sector in the UK. Its findings and emerging themes offer insights about the opportunities for social work leaders in palliative care in the future and how the profession and palliative care sector address current barriers to taking advantage of such opportunity. The main focus of this paper is leadership related to palliative care social work. However, it relates to much broader themes including the history, politics and culture of this profession and the requirements for leadership on the part of social work in the broader contexts of health and social care.