NHS workforce challenges – Training Doctors at the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine

Professor Mary Morell is the Inaugural Head of the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine and Professor of Sleep and Respiratory Physiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London.

Professor Morrell began her medical career as a nurse and went on to complete her PhD at the University of London. Her research focuses on breathing disorders that occur during sleep, which she translates into improvements in patient care. Her studies have led to changes in NICE guidelines for the treatment of sleep apnoea, supported by fellowships from the Wellcome Trust as well as funding from the British Heart Foundation and the National Institute of Health Research.

Professor Morrell is also committed to education developing both Masters and BSc programmes in the Faculty of Medicine. As the Phase One Director at Imperial College School of Medicine she has recently supported a major curriculum review, rolling out a new MBBS programme in 2019-20 that focuses on clinical skills, underpinned by the scientific understanding of medicine.

Professor Morrell has served on the Board of Directors for the American Thoracic Society’s as the Chair of the Respiratory Neurobiology and Sleep Assembly and a Trustee of the Physiological Society. She is a former President of the British Sleep Society.

Martin Lupton is the Vice-Dean (Education) for the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. He also works as a consultant obstetrician at Chelsea and Westminster Foundation NHS Trust.

Martin qualified from the University College Medical School London before undertaking training in Medical Law and Ethics and Medical Education. Since joining Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in 2003, he has worked with Imperial College London to promote undergraduate education. He has previously been the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Speciality Lead and Director of Clinical Studies at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, before working in partnership with Imperial as Head of MBBS Year 5, then as one of three Deputy Directors of Education. In 2014, he became the Head of Undergraduate Medicine for the School, where he continued to champion the development of medical graduates. Becoming Vice-Dean (Education) in 2019, Martin now leads all of the Faculty of Medicine’s undergraduate and postgraduate education activity.

Martin has previously been a member and Chair of the Ethics Committee for Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. He continues to work as a joint clinical lead for the Obstetric Cardiac service and for maternal medicine at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and lectures on the Year 5 Obstetrics and Gynaecology course on Medical Ethics.