FORMER NHS LEADER PROFESSOR CLIVE KAY JOINS BROWNE JACOBSON TO STRENGTHEN HEALTHCARE PRACTICE
BROWNE JACOBSON TAPS FOUR DECADES OF NHS EXPERIENCE WITH PROFESSOR CLIVE KAY APPOINTMENT
UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson has appointed former King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive Professor Clive Kay as Strategic Adviser to its Health and Life Sciences team, adding almost four decades of NHS and clinical leadership experience as the firm expands across public and private healthcare, life sciences and medical malpractice.
UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson has strengthened its Health and Life Sciences practice with the appointment of Professor Clive Kay, the former Chief Executive of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, as Strategic Adviser.
Professor Kay brings almost 40 years of healthcare experience to the non-executive role, including 17 years as a Consultant Radiologist and more than a decade in senior NHS trust leadership.
He retired earlier this year after leading King’s College Hospital since April 2019, a period that included the COVID-19 pandemic as well as significant operational, financial and technological change across one of England’s largest acute hospital trusts.
Supporting Browne Jacobson’s Healthcare Expansion
Professor Kay will work closely with Gerard Hanratty, Partner and Head of Health and Life Sciences, and other senior members of Browne Jacobson’s team as the firm seeks further growth across public sector healthcare, independent health and care, international markets, life sciences and medical malpractice.
Professor Kay said: “Throughout my time working in various roles across the healthcare sector, I’ve become aware of Browne Jacobson’s impressive reputation.
“I am really looking forward to working as part of the team by sharing my experience, ideas and knowledge. I’m excited about the opportunities available for the firm to leverage its deep understanding of how UK and international healthcare ecosystems operate to support clients in both the public and private sectors working to solve some of society’s biggest issues across healthcare.”
Leading Transformation At King’s College Hospital
During his tenure at King’s, Professor Kay led development of the Trust’s five-year BOLD corporate strategy, designed to drive operational and clinical improvements while helping stabilise the organisation’s finances and strengthen its reputation as a partner locally and nationally.
He also jointly led the October 2023 launch of Epic, an electronic health record system introduced alongside Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to replace legacy IT systems and paper records.
Those projects gave Professor Kay direct experience of several of the forces now reshaping healthcare, including digital transformation, financial pressures, workforce challenges and evolving models of patient care.
A Career Spanning Clinical And Executive Leadership
Before joining King’s College Hospital, Professor Kay progressed through senior roles at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, moving from Clinical Director of Radiology and Medical Director to Chief Executive.
His wider career has included serving as Visiting Associate Professor of Radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina, membership of the Council of the Royal College of Radiologists and chairing both the Royal College of Radiologists’ Scientific Programme Committee and the British Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology.
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Bringing Front-Line Insight To Legal Strategy
Gerard Hanratty said Professor Kay’s appointment would add significant practical healthcare leadership expertise to Browne Jacobson’s legal offering.
“Clive’s appointment is a real coup for our health and life sciences team as he brings an abundance of leadership experience with him from a successful career in the NHS, independent sector and internationally.
“His leadership experience inside one of the biggest and busiest acute trusts in England has given him a front-row seat of the various drivers of transformation across our health service, from technological innovation and operational pressures to changing demographics and structural reforms. He has also been a key figure in forging partnerships with a wide range of organisations that will support King’s College Hospital to respond effectively to the 10-Year Health Plan.
“Our health and life sciences offer to clients is based on our unique perspective of working with the NHS and private sectors, which helps us to act as a connector and walk in their shoes to navigate complex regulatory, legal and practical challenges. As we continue to innovate and grow, we’ll welcome the invaluable insights Clive will bring to the table so we can continue to meet the needs of our clients.”
The appointment positions Browne Jacobson to draw more directly on senior operational experience as healthcare organisations confront growing legal, regulatory and strategic complexity across both public and private markets.
