
Health and care
At Browne Jacobson, we provide legal advice across the full range of healthcare matters. With a team of dedicated health and care lawyers across our offices, we bring extensive experience from both the private and public sectors. We understand the fast-paced, highly regulated nature of the industry and are here to help you navigate it with confidence.
Our long history of working in health and care across the UK, Ireland and beyond means we know the industry inside-out. A strong institutional knowledge of the NHS and health systems around the world brings a deep understanding of the fast-changing policy, strategy and legislative environment.
We offer a full range of legal services relevant to the health and care sector, with specialists in legal disciplines including:
- AI, digital and HealthTech
- Charity law
- Clinical negligence
- Commercial and corporate
- Employment and HR services
- Integrated healthcare
- Inquests
- Investigations and public inquiries
- Maternity services
- Mental health and Court of Protection
- Information law
- Procurement
- Public law
- Regulatory (including CQC and Ofsted)
- Retail estate
Why choose us?
Clients choose and stay with us because of our deep experience in healthcare. We take pride in delivering practical, straightforward advice while ensuring our legal services are accessible and easy to understand. Here, we make the complex simple, find creative and commercial solutions, and champion fairness – earning us our market-leading reputation and helping us build lasting client relationships.
As one of the largest healthcare legal teams in England, we support more than 300 clients domestically and internationally, including NHS commissioners and regulators, government departments, private healthcare providers, businesses and investors in the later living and specialist care sectors.
So whether you're an established healthcare provider requiring end-to-end support, or a retirement village provider seeking funding and real estate guidance for a new development, you can rely on us to deliver legal advice that helps you achieve your goals.
"The team has been very responsive and provided clear and comprehensive advice."
Health and care legal services
Alongside the broader corporate team, we have a specialist team that focuses solely on health and care transactions.
We deliver innovative solutions for a number of national and global corporate clients across the independent health and social care sector.
In addition, we have a large team of experienced lawyers who support on commercial and outsourcing projects for local and national health and care clients across the public and independent sectors.
This team can advise on anything from ‘business-as-usual’ non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), contracts and memoranda of understanding (MoU) to long-term outsourcing arrangements, partnerships and joint ventures for major national projects and commercial transactions.
Corporate transactions for health Commercial and outsourcing for health

We advise on the regulation of care provision, helping you meet the standards set by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), product compliance and safety, environmental regulation and health and safety.
Proactive regulatory advice
Much of our advice is proactive, guiding clients on the development of new products and services, entry to the UK market, business restructuring or in respect of ongoing regulatory compliance. We’re regularly asked to advise on CQC registration requirements and processes, medical devices and similar regulations, MHRA regulation and NHS provider licensing.
Regulatory and criminal investigations
We also assist clients when things don’t go to plan, advising and representing them in respect of regulatory and criminal investigations, enforcement action and prosecutions. We work closely with colleagues across the firm including in our corporate and commercial, employment and civil litigation teams.
What we can do for you
- Provide advice on regulatory requirements early in the development of a new product or business structure.
- Provide training on how to deal with inspections by a range of regulators.
- Review contracts to ensure that they protect your business from regulatory liabilities.
- Advise on CQC registration requirements and assist in the process.
- Advise on registration and licensing requirements for medical devices.
- Provide urgent and responsive advice for incidents and investigations.

Our specialist health and care team can help you implement the requirements of data protection legislation. We advise on the day-to-day use of personal data related to employees, patients or other people, through to some of the very sensitive privacy and sharing issues which all organisations in the health sector face.
We have extensive experience advising on privacy issues associated with apps, research projects and sharing across international boundaries. More recently, our work has involved looking at duties and obligations related to cloud-based storage and anonymisation to enable learning to be shared across the health and care sector.
What we can do for you:
- Undertake a thorough review of your information law policies and procedures to make sure you comply with Information Commissioner’s Office guidance and health-specific legislation.
- Assist you in meeting your data protection obligations to specific data subjects, including employees, patients and whistle-blowers.
- Advise on risk areas of proposed data sharing relationships with third parties and how to mitigate these risks through robust diligence and written contracts. This includes advice on undertaking and completing Data Protection Impact Assessments.
- Developing clear policies and agreements on data sharing and anonymisation for wider sharing within the system for learning and research purposes.
- Supporting compliance with the Freedom of Information Act obligations.
We’d also be happy to provide bespoke training to you on any data protection issues that may be useful. This training can be provided in a format that works for you.
The most common types of training that we’re asked to provide include:
- Data protection overview
- Personal data breach training
- Subject access request training
- Sharing data for learning and research training.

We’re an expert team of digital health project lawyers who specialise in advising the health and care sector on its digital procurement requirements. We understand the sector and, working closely with our commercial health and procurement health teams, we’re able to provide holistic legal advice tailored to client needs. We advise and identify the unique risks that arise in the health and care sector and provide mitigation strategies accordingly.
We can advise on:
- Contractual approaches to the procurement of digital solutions in light of Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and the soon to be created International Patient Summary.
- Digital procurements using the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) model contract and various other agreements through existing framework mechanisms including G-Cloud and the Technology Services 3 framework.
- Contractual risk mitigation mechanisms during implementation and incentivised delivery mechanisms.
- Structures and governance frameworks and mechanisms for managing service performance.
- Negotiation strategies.
- Key risks on existing arrangements or close to sign contracts.
- All aspects of negotiating, drafting and finalising contracts that may be required across the digital procurement spectrum.

Our experienced and award winning IP team helps health and care providers and public bodies to protect, commercialise and enforce their intellectual property (IP).
We help them capture and own IP. We help draft collaboration agreements, establish innovation capture schemes, and can assist with the IP elements of complex software projects.
We’re also experts on licensing and commercialising technology.
Intellectual property litigation
Our patent litigation team has worked on complex health and care disputes, from inhalers to HIV drugs. We’ve also helped various health clients with copyright and trade mark disputes.
We work with a wide range of NHS trusts and regulators. From straightforward licences to complex projects and litigation, we’ll tailor our offering to deliver the service you need.

Our clients include both IT suppliers and private and public sector customers of IT systems. We understand the financial risks and business disruption involved in IT projects. We work to manage these risks and maximise your prospects of success, whatever your objective.
Our specialist health litigation lawyers provide comprehensive support and advice on issues involving litigation and other forms of dispute resolution. We have deep and broad expertise, ranging from providing support to put distressed IT projects back on track, through to advising on step-in rights, termination and exit strategies where projects can't be rescued.
We’ll work with you to identify the parties’ commercial interests in a dispute and then find creative ways to deliver solutions aligned as far as possible to each of those interests. We can help you keep a troubled project on track.
We offer a range of advice including:
- Advice on liability for project delays and changes to project scope. We recommend the strategic utilisation of contractual mechanisms such as relief notices, invoice dispute notices and change control notices to protect your position where the customer’s requirements change post-contract.
- Strategic advice in relation to liabilities of third parties, such as third-party contractors engaged to rescue the project.
- Advice on alternative dispute resolution, breach of warranty, injunctions, breach of restrictive covenants and fraud and misrepresentation claims.

We have an integrated team of employment lawyers and HR consultants, who can advise on the full breadth of people needs for health and care organisations.
Employment law for health and care
Our employment law team provides comprehensive legal support, from advising on day-to-day employment issues such as contracts, staff management and HR policies, to handling more complex matters like employment disputes, tribunal claims and the implications of mergers and acquisitions.
HR services
Working in tandem with our employment lawyers is our HR services team, which offers a complete package of support designed specifically for independent health and social care providers.
This includes advising on matters such as workforce planning, dealing with complex grievances and disciplinaries, managing allegations against staff, team restructures, organisational development, TUPE transfers and indemnities on outsourcing, and exit agreements.
Support also includes HR audits to ensure compliance with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), bespoke and off-the shelf-training for all levels of staff, and developing HR policies.
Employment law services for health and care HR services for health and care

We’ll support you and tailor our service to meet your needs. We recognise that the key to doing this is over a sustained period. Here are some examples of how we can add value and specific ways that we’ll create value for you.
Instant In-house
We appreciate that you may need to resource your legal support in an innovative way. Our Instant In-house package may be of interest to you, as we can act as your extended in-house team.
Health and Care Connect
Our forum brings together decision-makers and like-minded people from the independent health and social care sector to discuss the most pressing topics, learn from each other and create new partnership opportunities.
We have delivered regular legal, sector-specific and regional updates, roundtables and events in collaboration with partners, which include funders and real estate consultancies. Topics have included managing the risks of modern slavery in care, regulatory issues regarding digital channels, AI and healthcare apps, and navigating the CQC’s single assessment framework.
Shared Insights
Using our experience of being deeply embedded within the NHS, we pass on learnings to trusts and other providers via our regular Shared Insights webinar programme, which we often host in partnership with senior professionals and clients. Previous sessions have covered:
- Learning the lessons from national inquiries
- Focus on the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)
- Complex medical treatment decisions for patients with mental disorder.
Mock inquests
Running annually, this virtual training course provides essential knowledge and tools for any organisation or clinician with the potential to be involved in an inquest at a coroner’s court.
The course is made up of both live and on-demand content, including insights, lectures and mock inquest scenarios.
Maternity services resource hub
We have created a set of resources aimed at supporting quality improvement work already underway in maternity units across the country. These span services including advisory and inquest; governance and regulatory; clinical negligence claims; employment and workforce; public law, data sharing and disclosure; and risk management and patient safety.
The toolkit has been developed by our specialist maternity team, which has extensive experience of conducting high-profile maternity inquests on behalf of NHS trusts.
Training and resources
Clients have access to our wide range of training resources through our general seminar and webinar programme, which is complemented by on-demand legal updates and training videos.
We also provide bespoke training on areas that directly your business, which can be delivered virtually and in-person.
Ad hoc advice/helpline
We appreciate the need to have a 'sounding board' for legal issues and matters being dealt with in-house. We encourage early engagement with our clients and find that this avoids problems later down the line.

Supporting government healthcare agenda
We have been a primary thought leader advising on the new government’s approach to healthcare. Our specialists have spoken on panel sessions covering subjects such as accountability for integrated care systems at the NHS Confederation’s ICS Network National Conference.
We supported NHS Confederation in its various submissions to government regarding the 10-Year Health Plan.
Roundtables
We regularly bring public and private sector leaders together at roundtables covering key topics in health and care. We partnered with the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, for a discussion on how to effectively implement NHS service reconfiguration.
Other roundtable series have explored various issues affecting the future of care, the future of AI in healthcare, and the potential for expanding NHS private patient units.
Delivering healthcare
Partnering with NHS Providers, we co-authored the Provider collaboration: A practical guide to lawful, well-governed collaboratives report, outlining the legal framework in which public and private providers can work closer together.
In addition, we worked with the NHS Transformation Unit to publish the Collaborative Care: Creating Value from Scale guide to coincide with the NHS Providers annual conference in November 2024.
Thought leadership
We've authored and contributed to industry reports that aim to address healthcare challenges and opportunities. In the Opportunities for collaboration between the UK and UAE in cancer care white paper, we advised on legal and regulatory hurdles to effective cross-border data-sharing, which is vital to harnessing AI and emerging technologies in healthcare.

Alongside the broader corporate team, we have a specialist team that focuses solely on health and care transactions.
We deliver innovative solutions for a number of national and global corporate clients across the independent health and social care sector.
In addition, we have a large team of experienced lawyers who support on commercial and outsourcing projects for local and national health and care clients across the public and independent sectors.
This team can advise on anything from ‘business-as-usual’ non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), contracts and memoranda of understanding (MoU) to long-term outsourcing arrangements, partnerships and joint ventures for major national projects and commercial transactions.
Corporate transactions for health Commercial and outsourcing for health

We advise on the regulation of care provision, helping you meet the standards set by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), product compliance and safety, environmental regulation and health and safety.
Proactive regulatory advice
Much of our advice is proactive, guiding clients on the development of new products and services, entry to the UK market, business restructuring or in respect of ongoing regulatory compliance. We’re regularly asked to advise on CQC registration requirements and processes, medical devices and similar regulations, MHRA regulation and NHS provider licensing.
Regulatory and criminal investigations
We also assist clients when things don’t go to plan, advising and representing them in respect of regulatory and criminal investigations, enforcement action and prosecutions. We work closely with colleagues across the firm including in our corporate and commercial, employment and civil litigation teams.
What we can do for you
- Provide advice on regulatory requirements early in the development of a new product or business structure.
- Provide training on how to deal with inspections by a range of regulators.
- Review contracts to ensure that they protect your business from regulatory liabilities.
- Advise on CQC registration requirements and assist in the process.
- Advise on registration and licensing requirements for medical devices.
- Provide urgent and responsive advice for incidents and investigations.

Our specialist health and care team can help you implement the requirements of data protection legislation. We advise on the day-to-day use of personal data related to employees, patients or other people, through to some of the very sensitive privacy and sharing issues which all organisations in the health sector face.
We have extensive experience advising on privacy issues associated with apps, research projects and sharing across international boundaries. More recently, our work has involved looking at duties and obligations related to cloud-based storage and anonymisation to enable learning to be shared across the health and care sector.
What we can do for you:
- Undertake a thorough review of your information law policies and procedures to make sure you comply with Information Commissioner’s Office guidance and health-specific legislation.
- Assist you in meeting your data protection obligations to specific data subjects, including employees, patients and whistle-blowers.
- Advise on risk areas of proposed data sharing relationships with third parties and how to mitigate these risks through robust diligence and written contracts. This includes advice on undertaking and completing Data Protection Impact Assessments.
- Developing clear policies and agreements on data sharing and anonymisation for wider sharing within the system for learning and research purposes.
- Supporting compliance with the Freedom of Information Act obligations.
We’d also be happy to provide bespoke training to you on any data protection issues that may be useful. This training can be provided in a format that works for you.
The most common types of training that we’re asked to provide include:
- Data protection overview
- Personal data breach training
- Subject access request training
- Sharing data for learning and research training.

We’re an expert team of digital health project lawyers who specialise in advising the health and care sector on its digital procurement requirements. We understand the sector and, working closely with our commercial health and procurement health teams, we’re able to provide holistic legal advice tailored to client needs. We advise and identify the unique risks that arise in the health and care sector and provide mitigation strategies accordingly.
We can advise on:
- Contractual approaches to the procurement of digital solutions in light of Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and the soon to be created International Patient Summary.
- Digital procurements using the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) model contract and various other agreements through existing framework mechanisms including G-Cloud and the Technology Services 3 framework.
- Contractual risk mitigation mechanisms during implementation and incentivised delivery mechanisms.
- Structures and governance frameworks and mechanisms for managing service performance.
- Negotiation strategies.
- Key risks on existing arrangements or close to sign contracts.
- All aspects of negotiating, drafting and finalising contracts that may be required across the digital procurement spectrum.

Our experienced and award winning IP team helps health and care providers and public bodies to protect, commercialise and enforce their intellectual property (IP).
We help them capture and own IP. We help draft collaboration agreements, establish innovation capture schemes, and can assist with the IP elements of complex software projects.
We’re also experts on licensing and commercialising technology.
Intellectual property litigation
Our patent litigation team has worked on complex health and care disputes, from inhalers to HIV drugs. We’ve also helped various health clients with copyright and trade mark disputes.
We work with a wide range of NHS trusts and regulators. From straightforward licences to complex projects and litigation, we’ll tailor our offering to deliver the service you need.

Our clients include both IT suppliers and private and public sector customers of IT systems. We understand the financial risks and business disruption involved in IT projects. We work to manage these risks and maximise your prospects of success, whatever your objective.
Our specialist health litigation lawyers provide comprehensive support and advice on issues involving litigation and other forms of dispute resolution. We have deep and broad expertise, ranging from providing support to put distressed IT projects back on track, through to advising on step-in rights, termination and exit strategies where projects can't be rescued.
We’ll work with you to identify the parties’ commercial interests in a dispute and then find creative ways to deliver solutions aligned as far as possible to each of those interests. We can help you keep a troubled project on track.
We offer a range of advice including:
- Advice on liability for project delays and changes to project scope. We recommend the strategic utilisation of contractual mechanisms such as relief notices, invoice dispute notices and change control notices to protect your position where the customer’s requirements change post-contract.
- Strategic advice in relation to liabilities of third parties, such as third-party contractors engaged to rescue the project.
- Advice on alternative dispute resolution, breach of warranty, injunctions, breach of restrictive covenants and fraud and misrepresentation claims.

We have an integrated team of employment lawyers and HR consultants, who can advise on the full breadth of people needs for health and care organisations.
Employment law for health and care
Our employment law team provides comprehensive legal support, from advising on day-to-day employment issues such as contracts, staff management and HR policies, to handling more complex matters like employment disputes, tribunal claims and the implications of mergers and acquisitions.
HR services
Working in tandem with our employment lawyers is our HR services team, which offers a complete package of support designed specifically for independent health and social care providers.
This includes advising on matters such as workforce planning, dealing with complex grievances and disciplinaries, managing allegations against staff, team restructures, organisational development, TUPE transfers and indemnities on outsourcing, and exit agreements.
Support also includes HR audits to ensure compliance with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), bespoke and off-the shelf-training for all levels of staff, and developing HR policies.
Employment law services for health and care HR services for health and care

We’ll support you and tailor our service to meet your needs. We recognise that the key to doing this is over a sustained period. Here are some examples of how we can add value and specific ways that we’ll create value for you.
Instant In-house
We appreciate that you may need to resource your legal support in an innovative way. Our Instant In-house package may be of interest to you, as we can act as your extended in-house team.
Health and Care Connect
Our forum brings together decision-makers and like-minded people from the independent health and social care sector to discuss the most pressing topics, learn from each other and create new partnership opportunities.
We have delivered regular legal, sector-specific and regional updates, roundtables and events in collaboration with partners, which include funders and real estate consultancies. Topics have included managing the risks of modern slavery in care, regulatory issues regarding digital channels, AI and healthcare apps, and navigating the CQC’s single assessment framework.
Shared Insights
Using our experience of being deeply embedded within the NHS, we pass on learnings to trusts and other providers via our regular Shared Insights webinar programme, which we often host in partnership with senior professionals and clients. Previous sessions have covered:
- Learning the lessons from national inquiries
- Focus on the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)
- Complex medical treatment decisions for patients with mental disorder.
Mock inquests
Running annually, this virtual training course provides essential knowledge and tools for any organisation or clinician with the potential to be involved in an inquest at a coroner’s court.
The course is made up of both live and on-demand content, including insights, lectures and mock inquest scenarios.
Maternity services resource hub
We have created a set of resources aimed at supporting quality improvement work already underway in maternity units across the country. These span services including advisory and inquest; governance and regulatory; clinical negligence claims; employment and workforce; public law, data sharing and disclosure; and risk management and patient safety.
The toolkit has been developed by our specialist maternity team, which has extensive experience of conducting high-profile maternity inquests on behalf of NHS trusts.
Training and resources
Clients have access to our wide range of training resources through our general seminar and webinar programme, which is complemented by on-demand legal updates and training videos.
We also provide bespoke training on areas that directly your business, which can be delivered virtually and in-person.
Ad hoc advice/helpline
We appreciate the need to have a 'sounding board' for legal issues and matters being dealt with in-house. We encourage early engagement with our clients and find that this avoids problems later down the line.

Supporting government healthcare agenda
We have been a primary thought leader advising on the new government’s approach to healthcare. Our specialists have spoken on panel sessions covering subjects such as accountability for integrated care systems at the NHS Confederation’s ICS Network National Conference.
We supported NHS Confederation in its various submissions to government regarding the 10-Year Health Plan.
Roundtables
We regularly bring public and private sector leaders together at roundtables covering key topics in health and care. We partnered with the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, for a discussion on how to effectively implement NHS service reconfiguration.
Other roundtable series have explored various issues affecting the future of care, the future of AI in healthcare, and the potential for expanding NHS private patient units.
Delivering healthcare
Partnering with NHS Providers, we co-authored the Provider collaboration: A practical guide to lawful, well-governed collaboratives report, outlining the legal framework in which public and private providers can work closer together.
In addition, we worked with the NHS Transformation Unit to publish the Collaborative Care: Creating Value from Scale guide to coincide with the NHS Providers annual conference in November 2024.
Thought leadership
We've authored and contributed to industry reports that aim to address healthcare challenges and opportunities. In the Opportunities for collaboration between the UK and UAE in cancer care white paper, we advised on legal and regulatory hurdles to effective cross-border data-sharing, which is vital to harnessing AI and emerging technologies in healthcare.

Key statistics
Health and care expertise
Supreme Court
We represented two NHS defendants in three conjoined appeal cases decided by the Supreme Court in January 2024. We acted on Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Purchase v Ahmed.
In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court ruled that doctors do not owe a duty of care to members of a patient’s family who might be psychologically affected by witnessing the effects of a disease that the doctor ought to have diagnosed and treated. This will have enormous consequences for healthcare indemnifiers and insurers, and has been the subject of widespread legal commentary. The case was described by legal academic Professor Dominic Regan as “the Tort law case of the century”.
Nationally-significant public inquiries
We have worked for core participants on several nationally significant inquiries, including Thirlwall Inquiry, Lampard Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Ockendon Maternity Review, Infected Blood Inquiry and UK Covid-19 Inquiry.
During these inquiries, we work with clients to create an effective and efficient response process, making them aware of risks that arise and issues that may interest the inquiry during the public hearing stage. We also support them to continue with their primary objective of providing healthcare services.
NHS England
We are advising NHS England on the service reconfiguration of children and young person’s cancer services in the South East and South London. Our work includes support and advice on meeting the statutory requirements of public consultation across the region and engaging with campaign groups to ensure a considered decision-making process.
Care Fertility Group
We acted for our longstanding client Care Fertility Group, the UK’s largest private fertility clinic, on its acquisition of the Centre for Reproduction & Gynaecology Wales, furthering the provider’s commitment to delivering pioneering fertility treatment and advancing IVF science and clinical technology.
Key resources
Shared Insights
Forum
"Shared Insights is a monthly online forum which connects leaders and professionals from across the health and care sector to discuss the challenges you face and share learning, ideas and best practice."Find out more

Maternity
Service
"Our hub for health trusts includes resources aimed at supporting quality improvement work already underway in maternity units across the country."Find out more

Health and Care Connect
Training
"If you’re a decision maker in the independent health and care sector - whether you’re an operator, supplier, developer, investor, or advisor - our Health and Care Connect is for you."Find out more

Related expertise
Frequently asked questions
Regulatory bodies in health and social care oversee and ensure the professionalism and competency of healthcare and social work professionals. For example, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulates various healthcare professionals, including therapists, scientists, and social workers in England.
Healthcare lawyers specialise in all legal matters related to healthcare. They may represent either healthcare providers such as NHS trusts, private hospitals, primary care and dentists in defence cases, or individuals who have suffered injuries or losses as claimants. We navigate complex healthcare regulations and legal frameworks to ensure fair resolutions for our healthcare provider clients.
Key contacts

Gerard Hanratty
Partner

Clare Auty
Partner
Testimonials
"They are willing to work with us to find the right solution, not just offer advice. They know when to pick up the phone to better understand an issue and when to provide formal documented advice."
"The team brings a range and depth of knowledge and skills that has enabled us to deliver innovative change."
"Considerable experience and expertise in healthcare governance."