Professor John Ellershaw MA FRCP

Personal Statement

John Ellershaw is Professor of Palliative Medicine at the University of Liverpool, where he leads the development of palliative care research and education. He has contributed to the advancement of specialist palliative care services in Liverpool since 1994 when he was appointed as Clinical Director for Specialist Palliative Care at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, a role that he held until 2020. During his tenure, he oversaw the development and implementation of the ground-breaking Academic Palliative Care Unit, a 12-bedded inpatient unit dedicated to research and innovation in care for the dying, which opened in 2016.

Since November 2004, Professor Ellershaw has been the Head of the Palliative Care Unit at the University of Liverpool, where he supervises a multi-professional team engaged in research on four core themes:
• Best Care for the Dying Person
• Clinical Pharmacy & Pharmacology
• Biological, Physiological & Digital Technologies
• Supportive & Palliative Care.

The Palliative Care Unit also specialises in the delivery of communication skills training, teaching a range of courses at both undergraduate and professional levels.

Professor Ellershaw is the Supra Theme Lead for Core Skills at the School of Medicine, coordinating the delivery of undergraduate medical education across the following themes:
• Clinical skills
• Preparation for practice
• Pharmacology, therapeutics and prescribing
• Communication for clinical practice
• Simulation
He is also the Specialty Lead for undergraduate Palliative Medicine education.

Professor Ellershaw is the founding Chair of the International Collaborative for Best Care for the Dying Person, a group of leading thinkers, practitioners and researchers from 17 counties united by the common goal of improving care for dying people and their families.