Richard Chew

Health and care communications specialist Richard Chew has steered both public and private sector clients through the most complex mazes of operational challenges and crises, as a core member of their decision-making team,

Often played out under the fiercest public, political and public spotlight, these have ranged from high-profile right-to-die cases to a controversial campaign to lift the anonymity of doctors involved in end-of-life care.

He has guided core participants, victims and lawyers at some of the UK’s biggest public inquiries, including child sex abuse and infected blood – the latter dubbed “the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history”.

In one of the UK’s most exhaustive public inquiries into maternity services, he advised the independent Morecambe Bay Investigation panel in publishing its findings, conclusions and 44 far-reaching recommendations following the deaths of 16 babies and three mothers at one hospital trust.

During the first phase of COVID, he was the communications lead in the Gold Command team overseeing Bradford’s response to the pandemic – work that led Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty to tell a daily No 10 media briefing: “Bradford has shown superb leadership … it has done a large number of imaginative things”.

After being hired as interim Director of Communications at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London during the pandemic’s second phase, he now works as communications lead for two acute provider collaboratives – one in South East London, the other spanning Humber and North Yorkshire.

His 30-year career in health and care communications, and crisis and issues management, has routinely seen him deal with media ranging from Newsnight to The Sun; Panorama to BBC Radio 4. His long-standing private sector clients range from independent schools to a Middle Eastern Sheikh!

Another career highlight was becoming one of the first non-medic/academic to gain a credit in The Lancet for a research project he initiated with skin cancer experts exploring the sun safety dangers of England football shirts – prompting an overhaul in their future design.

Richard first honed his communications skills and media insight in a decade-long career in journalism, predominantly at Yorkshire Post newspapers – which famously included spending a night in Raquel Welch’s hotel bedroom. This followed a year’s journalism training in Sheffield, developing a knowledge of law, local government and 100wpm shorthand … alongside fellow trainee Jeremy Clarkson!