Colonel John Etherington OBE

Colonel John Etherington is the Director of Defence Rehabilitation and a Consultant in Rheumatology and Rehabilitation at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court in Epsom, Surrey. He has recently been appointed the National Clinical Director for Rehabilitation and Recovering in the Community for NHS England. He was Clinical Director at Headley Court until 2009 and was the consultant responsible for early stage rehabilitation of complex trauma patients with operational injuries.

Colonel Etherington has been an officer commanding the Medical and Rehabilitation Divisions and Research Department at Headley Court. He is the Defence Consultant Advisor in Rheumatology and Rehabilitation and Sport and Exercise Medicine, and the Chairman of the Surgeon General's Training and Exercise Medicine Advisory Group. Colonel Etherington has been the chair of the Royal College of Physicians of London Committee on Sport and Exercise Medicine, and he is the Vice President of the Faculty Sport and Exercise Medicine, UK. He was the chair of the Department of Health’s Rehabilitation sub-group for Trauma Networks and he also chaired the RCP’s working party on ‘Exercise for Life’.