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Staff Profile

Dr Donna Wakefield

Honorary Research Fellow & Consultant in Palliative Medicine

Background


Donna Wakefield has worked as a doctor in the NHS since graduating from Aberdeen Medical School in 2008. She has been a Consultant in Palliative Medicine since 2019 and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.


After being awarded multiple sources of research funding (including Mesothelioma UK, NHS England, Hospice UK, NIHR) she divided her time between clinical work and research within a research naive department and hospice. She gained experience of being PI/CI on multiple studies and was awarded a Distinction for her Masters in Clinical Research from Newcastle University in 2021; with her Masters research receiving an award from The Royal Society of Medicine.


Donna was awarded a competitive NIHR Doctoral Fellowship in 2023 and is undertaking her PhD research (Jan 2024- Dec 2027) on inequalities in access to palliative care for people with advanced lung disease (lung cancer, mesothelioma, COPD, ILD). Her Fellowship supervisors are Professor Jonathan Koffman & Professor Fliss Murtagh (Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre, Hull York Medical School), Professor Clare Bambra (Newcastle University) and Dr Joanna Davies (Cicely Saunders Institute, Kings College London).


After growing up in a socio-economically deprived area of the North-East (South Shields), her main research interest is socio-economic inequities/inequalities, and she has presented at national and international conferences on this topic. She is particularly interested in improving care for people with mesothelioma in socio-economically deprived areas and teaches widely on this topic. She is part of the national mesothelioma expert group, is involved in multiple research projects and publications on this topic and recently joined the north of England's first regional mesothelioma MDT.


Donna is enthusiastic about improving palliative care research and was previously Vice-Chair of the national Palliative Care Research Society (PCRS). She is an elected member of the national Association of Palliative Medicine (APM) Research & Ethics Committee and is part of several groups and projects about mapping and improving the palliative care research workforce.

Publications

  • Articles

    • Wakefield D, Ward T, Edge H, Mayland CR, Gardiner C. Palliative and end-of-life care for patients with pleural mesothelioma: A cohort study. Palliative Medicine 2025, 39(2), 286-297.
    • Wakefield, D, Booth, Z, Fay, M, Breckons, M. How can healthcare professionals better support family caregivers in the final days of life: Could the “Family’s Voice Diary” help? A qualitative study based in an area of high socio-economic deprivation. Palliative Care and Social Practice 2025.
    • Rosa W, Wakefield D, Scott H, Braybrook D, Harding R, Bristowe K. Hidden From Sight—From the Closet to the Paywall: A Rapid Evaluation of Restricted and Monetized Access to LGBTQ+ Inclusive Palliative, End-of-Life, and Bereavement Care Research. Journal of pain and symptom management 2025, 68(3), 183-189.
    • Taylor N, Christie J, Wakefield D. Head and neck cancer end of life care: complex challenges. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2025.
    • Wakefield, D, Forster, C, Christie, J. Equitable care for patients with cancer experiencing homelessness. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2025.
    • Dewhurst F, Turner R, Barrett L, Westhead E, Wakefield D, Hanratty B. Bereavement Training in the Workplace, Can it Help Bridge the Grief Support Gap? A Qualitative Evaluation of Employers’ and Employees’ Views. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying 2025, epub ahead of print.
    • Finucane A, Canny A, Mair A, Harrop E, Selman LE, Swash B, Wakefield D, Gillanders D. A rapid review of the evidence for online interventions for bereavement support. Palliative Medicine 2025, 39(1), 31-52.
    • Gillanders D, Canny A, Harrop E, Hulbert-Williams N, Neilson A, Selman L, Spiller J, Swash B, Buckle P, Wakefield D, Burnett T, Reed N, Finucane A. A logic model to guide ‘My Grief My Way’: An intervention development study for a digital psychological support package for unmet bereavement support needs. Progress in Palliative Care 2025, (ePub ahead of Print).
    • Harrop, E, Barawi, K, Mazzaschi, F, Torrens-Burton, A, Sutton, E, Gilbert, E, Wakefield, D, Goss, S, Seddon, K, Longo, M, Selman, LE. “The grief exists in a bubble that the rest of the world doesn’t see”: Exploring biographical disruption and meaning-making amongst people bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social Science & Medicine 2025.
    • Wakefield D, Ta Y, Dewhurst F, Hussain J, Chamberlain C, Etkind S. Qualified and motivated, but limited by specialty-specific barriers: a national survey of UK Palliative Medicine consultants research experience. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2024, 14, 76-86.
    • Dewhurst F, Howorth K, Billett H, Brown J, Charles M, Fleming E, Gouldthorpe C, Huggin A, Kavanagh E, Kiltie R, Robinson L, Rowley G, Simkiss L, Wakefield D, Woods E, Churm D, Warmsley R, Waterfield K. Palliative care simulation for internal medicine trainees: development and pilot study. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care 2024, 14(3), 358-364.
    • Abbey E, Cooper M, Foridi M, Frew K, Mayland C, Palmer J, Parry R, Semple C, Stewart K, Wakefield D. Head and neck cancer: United Kingdom national multidisciplinary guidelines ; Chapter 15: Palliative care in head and neck cancer. The Journal of Laryngology & Otology 2024, 138.
    • Wakefield D, McEvoy M, Blackburn-Daniels S, Campbell S. Tackling the NHS mental health crisis of working through the COVID-19 pandemic; pilot creative writing programme has potential to support wellbeing of recovering healthcare workers. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 2023, 53(1).
    • Crabtree A, Kavanagh E, Chamberlain C, Wakefield D, Daniel R, Schofield G, Star A, Yardley S, Whyte I, Chu C, Billett H, Noble S. Right needle, right patient, right time? A national flash-mob audit of thromboprophylaxis in palliative care. Thrombosis Research 2023, 223, 95-101.
    • Wakefield D, Aujayeb A. Do interventions for malignant pleural effusions impact on patient reported fatigue levels?. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 2023, 29(7), 334-342.
    • Selman LE, Sutton E, Mirra RM, Stone T, Gilbert E, Rolston Y, Murray K, Longo M, Seddon K, Penny A, Mayland CR, Wakefield D, Bryne A, Harrop E. ‘Sadly I think we are sort of still quite white, middle-class really’ – Inequities in access to bereavement support: Findings from a mixed methods study. Palliative Medicine 2023, 37(4).
    • Wakefield D, Etkind SN, Bemand-Qureshi L, Sutherland A, Koffman J, Dewhurst F, Noble S, Chamberlain C. UK palliative trainees research collaborative (UK-PRC): the first 5 Years–0–100 study sites. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2022, 14(3), e3024-e3032.
    • Selman LE, Farnell DJJ, Longo M, Goss S, Seddon K, Torrens-Burton A, Mayland CR, Wakefield D, Johnston B, Bryne A, Harrop E. Risk factors associated with poorer experiences of end-of-life care and challenges in early bereavement: Results of a national online survey of people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Palliative Medicine 2022, 36(4), 717-729.
    • Dewhurst F, Wakefield D, Elverson J, Mcconnell R, Bryan C, Spriggs H, Atkinson K, Frew K. Palliative care inpatients favour research participation irrespective of prognosis, performance or socioeconomic status: multicentre cohort study. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care 2022, epub ahead of print.
    • Wakefield D. If not home, where? Implementing an innovative model of care as an alternative place of care & death for patients living in an area of high socio-economic deprivation. Short-report on opening a long-term palliative care unit. Palliative Medicine 2022, 37(4).
    • Wakefield D, Dewhurst F, Koffman J, Chamberlain C. Palliative medicine specialist trainee research experience, interest and opportunities: a national survey. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2021, 14, E3.
    • Aujayeb, A, Wakefield, D. Malignant Pleural Effusions Impact on Fatigue (IMPE-F): A Prospective Observational Cohort Pilot Study. Journal of Respiration 2021, 1(2), 98-104.
    • Wakefield, D. Cancer care disparities in the LGBT community. Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care 2021, 15(3), 174-179.
    • Wakefield, D, Hanson, SR. Requested withdrawal of gastrostomy feeding in motor neurone disease. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2020, 13.
    • Wakefield, D, Fleming, E, Howorth, K, Waterfield, K, Kavanagh, E, Billett, H, Kiltie, R, Robinson, L, Rowley, G, Brown, J, Woods, E, Dewhurst, F. Inequalities in awareness and availability of bereavement services in north-east England. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2020, 14, e384-e388.
    • Gouldthorpe, C, Quinton, R, Wakefield, D. Denosumab-induced hypocalcaemia in metastatic gastric cancer. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2020, 14(E2).
    • Waterfield, K, Weiand, D, Dewhurst, F, Kiltie, R, Pickard, J, Karandikar, U, MacCormick, F, Vidrine, J, Rowley, G, Coulter, P, Lee, M, Frew, K. A qualitative study of nursing staff experiences of delirium in the hospice setting. International journal of palliative nursing 2018, 24(11).
    • Porteous, A, Dewhurst, F, Gray, W, Coulter, P, Karandikar, K, Kiltie, R, Lowery, L, MacCormick, F, Paxton,A, Pickard, J, Rowley, G, Vidrine, J, Walmsley, R, Waterfield, K, Weiand, D, Grogan, E. Screening for delirium in specialist palliative care inpatient units: perceptions and outcomes. International journal of palliative nursing 2016, 22, 444-447.

  • Book Chapters

    • Wakefield, D. Underrepresented groups. In: Jonathan Pickard & Jonathan Hindmarsh, ed. Oxford Case Histories Palliative Medicine. Oxford University Press, 2025, pp.35-43.
    • Wakefield, D, Smithers, R, Bibby, A. Symptoms and their management. In: Tod, A; Taylor, B; Gardiner, C; Darlison, L, ed. Understanding Mesothelioma: The Experiences and Care Needs of People with Mesothelioma and their Families. Taylor & Francis, 2025.
    • Wakefield, D. Managing pain in addiction. In: Jonathan Pickard & Jonathan Hindmarsh, ed. Oxford Case Histories Palliative Medicine. Oxford University Press, 2025, pp.103-109.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

    • Dehpour, T, Wakefield, D, Hussain, J, Koffman, J. Patient-centred education interventions for assessing and managing cancer-related pain relevant to patients from ethnic minority communities: A mixed-method systematic review. In: The 19th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care. 2025, Helsinki, Finland.
    • Okamoto, I, Jin, A, Etkind, S, McConnell, T, Wakefield, D, Bryne, A, Murtagh, F, Finucane, A. Mapping the palliative and end-of-life care research workforce in the UK: A mixed-method study. In: The 19th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care. 2025, Helsinki, Finland.
    • Wakefield, D, Dehpour, T, Bambra, C, Davies, J, Murtagh, F, Koffman, J. Is there an inverse palliative care law? Socio-economic inequalities in access, receipt and experience of palliative care for people with advanced lung disease: A mixed-methods systematic review. In: The 19th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care. 2025, Helsinki, Finland: Sage.

  • Editorial

  • Letters

    • Aujayeb, A, Wakefield, D. A note on working from home. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2025.
    • Aujayeb, A, Wakefield, D. Fatigue and malignant pleural effusions. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2021, 11, 305.