Jane Bates

Maya Jane Bates is a family medicine doctor from the UK with over 25 years of palliative care clinical practice, teaching, and research developed in Southern Africa. Dr. Bates pioneered palliative care models of service delivery and teaching at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi that would later be scaled up nationally within other public health facilities. She has published widely from her background in clinical practice: focusing on the impact of palliative care on household out-of-pocket expenditure within Universal Health Coverage, and was awarded he European Association for Palliative Care’s Early Career Researcher Award in 2022 for her contribution to palliative care research and clinical practice. 

Now working as an independent consultant in primary care and palliative care, Jane is regularly invited to contribute palliative care teaching, research and leadership expertise in different forums. She serves as primary care expert within the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Integrated Care (IG2), and as a member of the Scientific Committee of the African Palliative Care Association. She was a member of faculty during the inaugural Compassionate Leadership Fellowship run by the Indian Palliative Care Asssociation, Cairdeas International and Believers College Medicine College Hospital 2024-5. She continues to support palliative care in Malawi as a member of the Palliative Care Support Trust Board.  

Works include Inspiring Hope, a palliative care guide for churches caring for patients and families with palliative care needs, and the Palliative Care Matters podcast, launched in 2025 linking research evidence to clinical practice worldwide.  

Dr. Bates has been an IAHPC member since 2008, and joined the IAHPC Board in January 2023.

When not working, she enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with family and friends. She is an active member of her local church community.