Since winning the Development and Innovation Award at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2023, The Mary Stevens Hospice has continued to build on the success of No Barriers Here, our equity-informed approach to palliative care. What began as a pioneering initiative supporting people with learning disabilities has evolved into a movement-shaping, inclusive palliative and end of life care across the UK and internationally, reaching communities who have historically been underserved.
When No Barriers Here was first developed in 2019, the goal was to tackle inequities in palliative care for people with learning disabilities. Our co-production team, made up of hospice staff, people with learning disabilities, support managers and an art psychotherapist, designed arts-based workshops that supported traditional advance care planning conversations. These workshops provided a safer space for participants to explore their choices and wishes at the end of life in ways that were accessible and empowering.
The learning from these workshops was transformed into educational materials for healthcare professionals, ensuring that the insights gained could influence practice more widely. A film documenting the initial phase of No Barriers Here has been widely used in palliative care education programmes, helping to embed equity-informed care into professional practice.
Encouraged by this recognition, the hospice accepted an invitation for funding to extend the methodology to people excluded by identity, culture, ethnicity and race. The resulting two-year research study ran from 2021 to April 2023 and demonstrated both the adaptability and relevance of our approach. The impact of our work was quickly recognised. The Mary Stevens Hospice won and was shortlisted for several awards for No Barriers Here, culminating in the Markel 3rd Sector Care Award in 2023.
Guided by lived experience, our co-production teams over the years have designed, supported and facilitated inclusive workshops that ensure participants’ voices and end of life choices are listened to, understood and respected. Our research findings have provided practical resources and recommendations for healthcare organisations on how to respond to and improve palliative care systems, demonstrating the power of co-production in challenging systemic barriers.
Funding focus
Since the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards, The Mary Stevens Hospice has been successful in securing research funding to extend the reach of No Barriers Here and better understand the barriers to palliative and end of life care for underserved communities. Funded by Marie Curie UK, we explored palliative care for LGBTQ+ people through the study It’s More Than Rainbows in Receptions.
We have also worked in partnership with Marie Curie UK to lead further research with LGBTQ+ people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and the hospice was a co-applicant with Kingston University on The Victoria and Stuart Project and No Barriers Here was recommended as an advance care planning tool. Currently, we are involved in a new study with UCL and The Alzheimer’s Society, exploring rare dementias. These projects continue to strengthen our understanding of how to deliver inclusive, person-centred care to communities who have historically been overlooked.
We have also expanded our use of arts-based approaches, appointing a Creative Wellbeing Lead who not only supports the No Barriers Here programme but, thanks to successful funding from The National Lottery, also facilitates a weekly creative programme for hospice Day Service patients and monthly creative wellbeing sessions for staff and volunteers. At the start of 2026, we launched public workshops, creating a new income stream for the hospice.
Influencing policy and systemic change
Alongside research, we have produced a new film, Equity Informed Palliative Care – The No Barriers Here Approach, which captures the ethos and methods of the programme. Several book chapters have also been published, including collaborative work with our original co-production team in which we challenged traditional academic accessibility standards to ensure that our co-authors and their peers could access an easy-read version. We have also published new resources, designed and illustrated by people with lived experience or members of our co-production teams.
Our facilitator training programme has continued to grow, with over 500 healthcare professionals trained in our methods and we have increased our training team. The programme has now expanded to Scotland and Canada, where we are proud to see it being used with Indigenous communities and incorporated into academic educational programmes. This expansion demonstrates that No Barriers Here is not only transferable across settings but can also be adapted to meet the needs of different communities.
We are also focused on influencing policy and systemic change. By sharing our learning widely, publishing our research and continuing to train facilitators, we are helping to embed equity-informed care as standard practice across palliative care services. Ultimately, this ensures that healthcare systems better respond to the needs of under-represented groups and deliver compassionate, person-centred care that respects individual wishes.
No Barriers Here is a powerful example of what can be achieved when hospices work in partnership and co-production with people with lived experience. We have created a method that is adaptable, impactful and sustainable. Its ongoing success and impact demonstrates the difference that inclusive approaches can make, not only in improving palliative and end of life care experiences but also in challenging systemic inequities within wider healthcare.
Showcasing development and innovation
The recognition from the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards strengthened the hospice’s profile and provided tangible support for funding and research applications. Awards like these are vital for not-for-profit care organisations because they highlight innovation, encourage collaborative working and shine a light on the communities that organisations such as hospices serve. They offer an opportunity to celebrate achievement, sector-wide learning and inspire others to think differently about the care and services they provide.
Our motivation for entering the awards was simple, we wanted to celebrate the work of our team, our partners and, most importantly, our co-production team members. No Barriers Here is a programme born of co-production, and entering the awards gave us an opportunity to showcase how innovation, inclusion and collaboration can transform palliative care.
The Awards ceremony is more than a celebration, it is a moment to come together, recognise innovation and share inspiration. I truly hope this year’s finalists and winners leave the event feeling proud, supported and energised, knowing that their work is valued and is making a difference.
On a personal note, of all the work I have been involved in, this is the initiative I am most proud of. Knowing that voices from underserved communities are being heard by decision-makers, seeing healthcare professionals embrace a more inclusive approach, and recognising that these ways of working are now influencing real change and shaping practice – it is incredibly rewarding.
The world around us keeps changing, and so has my role since these awards, but No Barriers Here will always serve as a reminder that change only happens when we listen and have the courage to challenge what has always been considered and accepted as the norm.
Gemma Allen is Director of Strategy, Innovation and Care at The Mary Stevens Hospice and Co-founder and Lead of No Barriers Here. Email: [email protected] Linkedin: @Gemma-Allen