Amanda Farwell is a PhD student at the University of Essex with an interest in servicer users’ access to palliative and end of life care, in particular heart failure patients. Her PhD will provide a greater understanding of service user preferences regarding communication, prognosis and ‘difficult conversations’ in the context of the experiences of heart failure patients in palliative services. She is interested in the implications for service user involvement for this specific group of service users. Before joining ARC East of England, Amanda completed a BSc. (Hons) in Professional Practice in Clinical Nursing at the University of Brighton, and an MSc in Health Research at the University of Essex.