Private hospital provider Spire Healthcare has appointed Dr Catherine Cale as group medical director, effective 26 October, following the decision to retire by the current interim medical director, Fergus Macpherson.

Cale has served on boards as medical director in three organisations, each in different parts of the health sector, most recently with Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London. She worked alongside Professor Tim Briggs as clinical ambassador for the Getting It Right First Time initiative in London until February 2019 and maintains strong links with the programme. Cale trained in paediatric immunology and infectious diseases and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology.

Spire Healthcare stated it is implementing a regional structure with a medical director for each of the three geographical business units (North, Central and South), in addition to the existing assistant medical director and responsible officer. Spire says this is to provide increased medical governance and representation throughout the business.

Spire also appointed Gillian Fairfield as group general counsel on 1 September. Fairfield is a senior lawyer with more than 20 years’ experience in corporate law, regulatory, finance, and governance who has worked with listed companies across a number of sectors. She was previously a partner in the corporate division of international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills and was a non-executive director and committee member of Lonmin, a FTSE-listed public company.

In addition, Spire has appointed Professor Clifford Shearman as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 October. He will also join the clinical governance and safety committee from 1 January 2021.

This appointment will increase the number of Spire board members with clinical experience to four. Shearman was a consultant vascular surgeon for 26 years and is currently vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons. He is also non-executive director at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch NHS Foundation Trust.