We are deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of our EUPCA-Alumni Dr. Juan-Pablo Leiva, announced last week by our colleagues at SECPAL. On behalf of our entire team and the EUPCA family we woud like to offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, patients and all who knew him.
The following text is a translation of the SECPAL statement:
The Spanish Society for Palliative Care regrets the death of its president, Dr. Juan Pablo Leiva.
We regret to announce the unexpected death of Dr. Juan Pablo Leiva, President of the Spanish Society of Palliative Care (SECPAL) and the SECPAL Foundation, and we convey our deepest condolences and warm embrace to his family and all his loved ones, whom we accompany in their grief.
Dr. Leiva, a specialist in Family and Community Medicine and a pioneer in the development of renal palliative care in Spain, worked as a palliative physician at the Santa Marina Hospital in Bilbao (Osakidetza). He assumed the presidency of SECPAL in February 2021, a challenge he faced “with gratitude and humility” and which has led him to undertake a tireless struggle to advance towards the full development of palliative care, which he considered “the strategic key to the humanisation of health”.
His firm commitment to consensus and collaboration has led him to establish numerous strategic alliances with scientific societies, associations, foundations, universities and other organisations, with the aim of promoting a broad social movement in defence of comprehensive and quality end-of-life care as a universal right.
After hearing the sad news of his passing, the SECPAL Board of Directors and the entire palliative care community would like to express their gratitude for the dedication and enthusiasm of Dr. Juan Pablo Leiva in promoting the work of our scientific society through a multitude of innovative projects and initiatives with which he sought to challenge and involve all social agents in what he considered “a historic moment” for the development of palliative care.