Clinical Leads

Our Clinical Leads are NHS Consultants working with Medefer to deliver better healthcare for everyone. They work alongside more than 100 NHS Consultants across a range of specialities.


Dr Matthew Faircloth

Cardiology

Matthew  is a consultant cardiologist in the NHS at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. 

His main area of interest is in interventional cardiology – stenting blocked arteries and treating heart attacks.

Matthew trained at St George’s Hospital in South London and across South London including at St Thomas’, The Royal Brompton and Hammersmith Hospitals where he undertook a period of research leading to the award of a PhD for studies in the molecular basis of heart failure.

Dr Ken Laji

Diabetes & Endocrinology

Dr Laji is a consultant Endrochrinologist in the Western Sussex NHS Trust

Dr Laji has experience diagnosing and managing a wide range of endocrine disorders including thyroid, parathyroid, sex hormone disorders, as well as managing complex pituitary and adrenal endocrinology. 

His work is across The Western Sussex Trust, which also has close links with multiple tertiary centres.  

He is a lecturer and trainer affiliated to several universities and regularly publish in peer reviewed journals. He is also a senior examiner for Royal College of Physicians’ higher professional examination. 

“I am excited to be part of Medefer which is an innovative venture aiming to deliver healthcare differently.”

Dr Adam Stone

Gastroenterology

Dr Adam Stone qualified in Medicine from Cambridge University and St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School in 1991. He trained in London over the next decade and was appointed as a Consultant Gastroenterologist at St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester in 2002. His clinical sub-speciality is the diagnosis and endoscopic management of gastro-intestinal and pancreatic cancer.

Adam’s chief interest outside clinical medicine is in medical education and training. He has been on the Wessex Speciality Training Committee for Gastroenterology for the last 10 years and an Educational Supervisor for South Thames Foundation school (supervising junior hospital doctors).

Due to his teaching of medical students from King’s College Hospital Medical School, he was given an Honorary Clinical Fellowship by that institution in 2015. He is Site Director for the American School of the Caribbean (AUC) at Western Sussex Hospitals and an Associate Professor of the AUC. He examines for the Membership examinations of the Royal College of Physicians.

Mr Chris Peters

General Surgery

Christopher Peters is a London based Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal and General Surgeon working at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and for Medefer.  His specialist interest is Oesophageal and Gastric cancer surgery but he also has extensive experience treating benign upper gastrointestinal conditions such as reflux, achalasia and gallstones. In terms of general surgery he is an experienced hernia surgeon including complex redo incisional hernia repairs with a hybrid laparoscopic / open approach.

As an Imperial College academic his research programme is built around understanding how we can use new technologies to make better decisions about how we treat cancer patients. He runs the Imperial College Masters in Surgical Innovation and leads the Culture and Engagement committee in the Department of Surgery and Cancer which aims to improve the working life of its staff and improve both gender and ethnic balance in academia. 

“Medefer is exciting as it provides a new model to quickly and efficiently provide the highest quality medical opinions to NHS patients, reducing the stress and strains on hospital services, and getting people the advice and treatment they need faster.”

Mr Moiad Alazzam

Gynaecology

Moiad is a dual certified Obstetrician & Gynaecologist and Subspecialist Gynaecological Oncologist (RCOG, London). He qualified from Jordan University of Science and Technology where he was a lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology until he moved to the UK in 2001. Moiad completed his speciality training programme in 2010 and received dual CCT accreditation.

He received BSGE traveling fellowship to train in robotic surgery (Cork-Ireland) and ESGO traveling fellowship to train in advanced laparoscopic surgery in France(Oscar Lambret Centre- Lile). Moiad is passionate about education, innovation and research. He is actively involved, setting up international collaborative studies and publishing in numerous peer-reviewed journals. He is frequently invited to speak in national and international conferences. He served in the British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) and the British & Irish Association for Robotic Surgeons (BIARGS) councils where he chaired the BSGE guidelines committee and co-authored the endometrial hyperplasia greentop guidelines.

Moiad is a founding member of the Oxford Placenta Accreta Group. He has extensive research and surgical expertise in the management of trophoblastic diseases.

Prof Ciro Rinaldi

Haematology

Professor Rinaldi trained in Italy at University Federico II Naples, where he gained his MD, followed by Haematology specialist training and a PhD in Biotechnology. During his PhD, he moved to Chicago where he worked in Giuseppina Nucifora’s Lab at University of Illinois (UIC), and he published several articles on alternative pathways in MPN and MDS.

He is Consultant Haematologist at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust specialised in myeloid malignancies including MPN, MDS and AML and he is also Divisional Clinical Director for Clinical Support Services and Medicine and Deputy Director Clinical Research Facilities.

Ciro became Honorary Professor in Haematology at University of Lincoln in 2015 where He leads the MPN/MDS molecular biology lab focusing on Philadelphia-negative MPN and abnormal pathways in MDS.

He is former Chair for the Haematology Expert Clinical Advisory Group (ECAG) Lead for the East Midland.

Dr Jonathan Kennedy

Neurology

Jonathan works at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust where he is the Clinical Director for Neurosciences and is a member of the NCL STP Neurology Group.

He trained at Imperial College in London. He undertook clinical training in a number of London teaching hospitals, including a period as a clinical research fellow at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

Jonathan has expertise across general neurology with a specialist interest in dementia and cognitive disorders. He developed the Cognitive Disorders Service at the Royal Free and was part of the London memory Network Steering Group.

He enjoys teaching both within medicine and allied disciplines. He co-authored the book Neurology for MRCP and regularly teaches for both University College London and Birkbeck University.

Dr Matthew Knight

Respiratory

Dr Matthew Knight is a Respiratory consultant based at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and is the clinical lead for Respiratory Medicine at Medefer. He has a clinical interest in chronic cough, unexplained breathlessness, cardio-pulmonary exercise testing and upper airway allergy. He has been actively involved in research into emergency pleural disease management and out of hospital care for acute respiratory conditions.

Prior to taking on the role of clinical lead at Medefer he was Associate Postgraduate Dean for Medicine at the postgraduate school of Medicine based at Health Education East of England in Cambridge (2017-20) and was the head of department of respiratory medicine at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. He was the Royal College Tutor for Medicine at West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust from 2016 to 2020. During the Coronavirus outbreak of 2020 he established and led the COVID Virtual hospital in Hertfordshire.

Dr Knight sits as a director of Penrose Care, an ethical home care provider based in London and has worked closely with colleagues over the years to improve conditions in the home care sector.

Dr Francis Kynaston-Pearson

Rheumatology

Dr Francis Kynaston-Pearson is a consultant rheumatologist with a full-time substantive role in the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton Trust, based on the Derby Campus. In addition, he runs a private clinic at the Spire hospital in Nottingham. Dr Kynaston-Pearson sees a broad range of rheumatic diseases in clinical practice but has particular interest in seronegative arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Dr Kynaston-Pearson completed his medical training at the University of Leicester, where he obtained both his MBChB and his BSc, before going on to practice in Oxfordshire with rotations at the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Nuffield Hospital. Wanting to acquire a broader training experience, Dr Kynaston-Pearson spent almost a year working in emergency medicine in Brisbane, Australia.

On his return to England, Dr Kynaston-Pearson went on to accomplish his early physician training at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Birmingham City Hospital. He undertook his higher rheumatology specialist training in Nottingham, Derby and Lincoln. Dr Kynaston-Pearson took out time from his specialist training to follow his passion for education and completed a Masters in Medical Education at the University of Nottingham obtaining a distinction, he continues to pursue this interest as of today, mentoring trainees and teaching medical students, qualified doctors and allied health professionals.

Dr Kynaston-Pearson was appointed the Chief Registrar at the Nottingham University Hospital Trust on his final training year, giving him the opportunity to work closely with the Royal College of Physicians and senior trust leaders to action quality improvement in hospitals. This sparked his second non-clinical passion – service improvement. So far as a Consultant, Dr Kynaston-Pearson has piloted a community-based service for fibromyalgia and is working on developing a specialist clinic for axial Spondylarthritis.

Dr Kynaston-Pearson has a CCT in both Rheumatology and General Internal Medicine and continues to undertake additional work in acute and general medicine, particularly over the past few years of the pandemic. Dr Kynaston-Pearson is passionate about improving access and services to Medicine and is delighted and excited to be joining the team at Medefer to help deliver on these aims.

Mr Stuart Graham

Urology

Stuart has a clinical interest in stone disease, leading the PCNL service for North East London. He is active in complex endourology & heads the laser local anaesthetic bladder cancer service. He leads the Holmium Enucleation of the Prostate service, taking referral regionally. His research interests centre around prediction & prevention of stone disease, and was a member of the Goliath study group.

Stuart is a Co-Foundation Programme Director & Improving Surgical Training (IST) for Core Surgical Training Lead for the Whipps Cross Site. He is Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Institute of Health Sciences Education, for Queen Mary University of London and WX Urology site lead for the 3rd & 5th year students in Urology

He has personally run virtual clinics for over 10 years for 2 different trust. He is the Clinical Governance lead for the Holly Private Hospital.

Rosie Cochrane

Gynaecology

Rosie trained in anaesthesia in Glasgow before changing career path to obstetrics and gynaecology after 12 years. She was a consultant in gynaecology and sexual health in Edinburgh until 2021, with a special interest in menopause care, menstrual problems, gynaecological ultrasound and abortion care. Following retirement she has worked as a locum consultant in NHS Lanarkshire and continued a busy private practice in Edinburgh until retiring from this in 2023.

She has worked for Medefer since August 2020 and is currently the Deputy Clinical Lead for gynaecology.

“Since starting with Medefer in 2020 I have always felt welcomed and supported and felt very much part of the team. The Virtual Hospital model is ingenious and I feel provides an excellent and efficient care pathway for patients which should become the standard of care for everyone.”

Dr Jim Gray

Orthopaedics

Jim, a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, leads as the Clinical Director of Orthopaedics at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Specialising in upper limb surgery, he champions medical education, mentors consultants, and spearheads clinical area redesign and service reorganisation. He serves as a Specialist Advisor for the CQC.

His commitment to innovation led him to adopt lean methodology and develop the DASHclinic, a groundbreaking healthcare clinic queue management tool. Embracing the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, he latterly pursued a qualification in Surgery Leadership and graduated from Harvard University. Jim aims to revolutionise healthcare processes by leveraging NHS expertise, employing smart technology, and utilising data to streamline operations, prioritise speed, effectiveness, patient safety, and overall satisfaction.

Our People

Dr Matthew Faircloth

Cardiology

Matthew  is a consultant cardiologist in the NHS at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. 

His main area of interest is in interventional cardiology – stenting blocked arteries and treating heart attacks.

Matthew trained at St George’s Hospital in South London and across South London including at St Thomas’, The Royal Brompton and Hammersmith Hospitals where he undertook a period of research leading to the award of a PhD for studies in the molecular basis of heart failure.

Dr Ken Laji

Diabetes & Endocrinology

Dr Laji is a consultant Endrochrinologist in the Western Sussex NHS Trust

Dr Laji has experience diagnosing and managing a wide range of endocrine disorders including thyroid, parathyroid, sex hormone disorders, as well as managing complex pituitary and adrenal endocrinology. 

His work is across The Western Sussex Trust, which also has close links with multiple tertiary centres.  

He is a lecturer and trainer affiliated to several universities and regularly publish in peer reviewed journals. He is also a senior examiner for Royal College of Physicians’ higher professional examination. 

“I am excited to be part of Medefer which is an innovative venture aiming to deliver healthcare differently.”

Dr Adam Stone

Gastroenterology

Dr Adam Stone qualified in Medicine from Cambridge University and St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School in 1991. He trained in London over the next decade and was appointed as a Consultant Gastroenterologist at St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester in 2002. His clinical sub-speciality is the diagnosis and endoscopic management of gastro-intestinal and pancreatic cancer.

Adam’s chief interest outside clinical medicine is in medical education and training. He has been on the Wessex Speciality Training Committee for Gastroenterology for the last 10 years and an Educational Supervisor for South Thames Foundation school (supervising junior hospital doctors).

Due to his teaching of medical students from King’s College Hospital Medical School, he was given an Honorary Clinical Fellowship by that institution in 2015. He is Site Director for the American School of the Caribbean (AUC) at Western Sussex Hospitals and an Associate Professor of the AUC. He examines for the Membership examinations of the Royal College of Physicians.

Mr Chris Peters

General Surgery

Christopher Peters is a London based Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal and General Surgeon working at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and for Medefer.  His specialist interest is Oesophageal and Gastric cancer surgery but he also has extensive experience treating benign upper gastrointestinal conditions such as reflux, achalasia and gallstones. In terms of general surgery he is an experienced hernia surgeon including complex redo incisional hernia repairs with a hybrid laparoscopic / open approach.

As an Imperial College academic his research programme is built around understanding how we can use new technologies to make better decisions about how we treat cancer patients. He runs the Imperial College Masters in Surgical Innovation and leads the Culture and Engagement committee in the Department of Surgery and Cancer which aims to improve the working life of its staff and improve both gender and ethnic balance in academia. 

“Medefer is exciting as it provides a new model to quickly and efficiently provide the highest quality medical opinions to NHS patients, reducing the stress and strains on hospital services, and getting people the advice and treatment they need faster.”

Mr Moiad Alazzam

Gynaecology

Moiad is a dual certified Obstetrician & Gynaecologist and Subspecialist Gynaecological Oncologist (RCOG, London). He qualified from Jordan University of Science and Technology where he was a lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology until he moved to the UK in 2001. Moiad completed his speciality training programme in 2010 and received dual CCT accreditation.

He received BSGE traveling fellowship to train in robotic surgery (Cork-Ireland) and ESGO traveling fellowship to train in advanced laparoscopic surgery in France(Oscar Lambret Centre- Lile). Moiad is passionate about education, innovation and research. He is actively involved, setting up international collaborative studies and publishing in numerous peer-reviewed journals. He is frequently invited to speak in national and international conferences. He served in the British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) and the British & Irish Association for Robotic Surgeons (BIARGS) councils where he chaired the BSGE guidelines committee and co-authored the endometrial hyperplasia greentop guidelines.

Moiad is a founding member of the Oxford Placenta Accreta Group. He has extensive research and surgical expertise in the management of trophoblastic diseases.

Prof Ciro Rinaldi

Haematology

Professor Rinaldi trained in Italy at University Federico II Naples, where he gained his MD, followed by Haematology specialist training and a PhD in Biotechnology. During his PhD, he moved to Chicago where he worked in Giuseppina Nucifora’s Lab at University of Illinois (UIC), and he published several articles on alternative pathways in MPN and MDS.

He is Consultant Haematologist at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust specialised in myeloid malignancies including MPN, MDS and AML and he is also Divisional Clinical Director for Clinical Support Services and Medicine and Deputy Director Clinical Research Facilities.

Ciro became Honorary Professor in Haematology at University of Lincoln in 2015 where He leads the MPN/MDS molecular biology lab focusing on Philadelphia-negative MPN and abnormal pathways in MDS.

He is former Chair for the Haematology Expert Clinical Advisory Group (ECAG) Lead for the East Midland.

Dr Jonathan Kennedy

Neurology

Jonathan works at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust where he is the Clinical Director for Neurosciences and is a member of the NCL STP Neurology Group.

He trained at Imperial College in London. He undertook clinical training in a number of London teaching hospitals, including a period as a clinical research fellow at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

Jonathan has expertise across general neurology with a specialist interest in dementia and cognitive disorders. He developed the Cognitive Disorders Service at the Royal Free and was part of the London memory Network Steering Group.

He enjoys teaching both within medicine and allied disciplines. He co-authored the book Neurology for MRCP and regularly teaches for both University College London and Birkbeck University.

Dr Matthew Knight

Respiratory

Dr Matthew Knight is a Respiratory consultant based at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and is the clinical lead for Respiratory Medicine at Medefer. He has a clinical interest in chronic cough, unexplained breathlessness, cardio-pulmonary exercise testing and upper airway allergy. He has been actively involved in research into emergency pleural disease management and out of hospital care for acute respiratory conditions.

Prior to taking on the role of clinical lead at Medefer he was Associate Postgraduate Dean for Medicine at the postgraduate school of Medicine based at Health Education East of England in Cambridge (2017-20) and was the head of department of respiratory medicine at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. He was the Royal College Tutor for Medicine at West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust from 2016 to 2020. During the Coronavirus outbreak of 2020 he established and led the COVID Virtual hospital in Hertfordshire.

Dr Knight sits as a director of Penrose Care, an ethical home care provider based in London and has worked closely with colleagues over the years to improve conditions in the home care sector.

Dr Francis Kynaston-Pearson

Rheumatology

Dr Francis Kynaston-Pearson is a consultant rheumatologist with a full-time substantive role in the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton Trust, based on the Derby Campus. In addition, he runs a private clinic at the Spire hospital in Nottingham. Dr Kynaston-Pearson sees a broad range of rheumatic diseases in clinical practice but has particular interest in seronegative arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Dr Kynaston-Pearson completed his medical training at the University of Leicester, where he obtained both his MBChB and his BSc, before going on to practice in Oxfordshire with rotations at the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Nuffield Hospital. Wanting to acquire a broader training experience, Dr Kynaston-Pearson spent almost a year working in emergency medicine in Brisbane, Australia.

On his return to England, Dr Kynaston-Pearson went on to accomplish his early physician training at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Birmingham City Hospital. He undertook his higher rheumatology specialist training in Nottingham, Derby and Lincoln. Dr Kynaston-Pearson took out time from his specialist training to follow his passion for education and completed a Masters in Medical Education at the University of Nottingham obtaining a distinction, he continues to pursue this interest as of today, mentoring trainees and teaching medical students, qualified doctors and allied health professionals.

Dr Kynaston-Pearson was appointed the Chief Registrar at the Nottingham University Hospital Trust on his final training year, giving him the opportunity to work closely with the Royal College of Physicians and senior trust leaders to action quality improvement in hospitals. This sparked his second non-clinical passion – service improvement. So far as a Consultant, Dr Kynaston-Pearson has piloted a community-based service for fibromyalgia and is working on developing a specialist clinic for axial Spondylarthritis.

Dr Kynaston-Pearson has a CCT in both Rheumatology and General Internal Medicine and continues to undertake additional work in acute and general medicine, particularly over the past few years of the pandemic. Dr Kynaston-Pearson is passionate about improving access and services to Medicine and is delighted and excited to be joining the team at Medefer to help deliver on these aims.

Mr Stuart Graham

Urology

Stuart has a clinical interest in stone disease, leading the PCNL service for North East London. He is active in complex endourology & heads the laser local anaesthetic bladder cancer service. He leads the Holmium Enucleation of the Prostate service, taking referral regionally. His research interests centre around prediction & prevention of stone disease, and was a member of the Goliath study group.

Stuart is a Co-Foundation Programme Director & Improving Surgical Training (IST) for Core Surgical Training Lead for the Whipps Cross Site. He is Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Institute of Health Sciences Education, for Queen Mary University of London and WX Urology site lead for the 3rd & 5th year students in Urology

He has personally run virtual clinics for over 10 years for 2 different trust. He is the Clinical Governance lead for the Holly Private Hospital.

Rosie Cochrane

Gynaecology

Rosie trained in anaesthesia in Glasgow before changing career path to obstetrics and gynaecology after 12 years. She was a consultant in gynaecology and sexual health in Edinburgh until 2021, with a special interest in menopause care, menstrual problems, gynaecological ultrasound and abortion care. Following retirement she has worked as a locum consultant in NHS Lanarkshire and continued a busy private practice in Edinburgh until retiring from this in 2023.

She has worked for Medefer since August 2020 and is currently the Deputy Clinical Lead for gynaecology.

“Since starting with Medefer in 2020 I have always felt welcomed and supported and felt very much part of the team. The Virtual Hospital model is ingenious and I feel provides an excellent and efficient care pathway for patients which should become the standard of care for everyone.”

Dr Jim Gray

Orthopaedics

Jim, a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, leads as the Clinical Director of Orthopaedics at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Specialising in upper limb surgery, he champions medical education, mentors consultants, and spearheads clinical area redesign and service reorganisation. He serves as a Specialist Advisor for the CQC.

His commitment to innovation led him to adopt lean methodology and develop the DASHclinic, a groundbreaking healthcare clinic queue management tool. Embracing the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, he latterly pursued a qualification in Surgery Leadership and graduated from Harvard University. Jim aims to revolutionise healthcare processes by leveraging NHS expertise, employing smart technology, and utilising data to streamline operations, prioritise speed, effectiveness, patient safety, and overall satisfaction.