Biography

1954 to 1985

1954

Born in Uganda

1954
1970

Moved to the UK

The Patel family moved from Uganda to India in 1965. After spending several years living in India, the family made their way to the UK in 1970.

In 1971, after years of attacks by the dictator Idi Amin, Ugandan Indians awoke to discover that they had 90 days to leave the country. It was during a family holiday in Uganda that the Patel family were caught up in the developing crisis and forced to leave Uganda for good.

Chai’s family moved into a council house in Putney, South London where they ran a local post office.

1970
1979

Graduated in medicine

Following his graduation in 1979 Chai went on to practise as a Doctor in General Medicine.

1979
1979 – 1985

Practised Medicine in the National Health Service

Chai became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1981 and practised in various medical specialties ultimately specialising in gastroenterology. In 1984, he was appointed as a Medical Research Fellow in Gastroenterology at Pembroke College, Oxford.

1979 – 1985

1988 to 1998

1988

Worked in Investment Management with Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers

Moving on from practising medicine in 1985, Chai trained in investment management with Merrill Lynch in New York.

Following his move back to the UK, Chai was headhunted by Lehman Brothers as part of a team managing £200 million of discretionary and non-discretionary funds. In 1987 he was promoted to Vice President managing a team of traders. The lessons learned in this corporate environment would deepen Chai’s understanding of financial markets and business development.

1988
1988

Founded Court Cavendish

In 1988 Chai combined his unique blend of knowledge of investment markets with his medical experience to form Court Cavendish, a provider of long-term care. Court Cavendish became synonymous with quality and innovation. The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1993. It continued to grow through a series of acquisitions culminating in the merger with Takare to form Care First in 1996. Care First became a leading provider of care in the UK, with over 12,000 beds and 14,000 employees in 135 care homes.

1988
1991

Trustee of Health Unlimited

1991
1992

Deputy Chairman of the Continuing Care Conference

The Continuing Care Conference was an association of local authorities, providers, charities, service user groups and financial services companies dedicated to improving the quality of life of elderly people. Chai was its Deputy Chairman until 1999.

1992
1992

Joined the Independent Healthcare Association

As part of the Independent Healthcare Association team, Chai held the following roles:

Director: 1992 to 1995
Chairman: 1995 to 1997
Director of the Acute Board: 2003 onwards

Chai was also a member of the sub-group responsible for the development of ‘Home from Home’, an outcome-based standards guide for care homes. He also joined the National Advisory Committee for the Kings Fund Audit to oversee a two-year framework development for nursing home accreditation. 

1992
1993

The Open University Foundation

Chai was a Trustee for the Open University Foundation from 1993 to 2000. 

1993
1995

Member of the Advisory Board for the Demential Care Journal

Chai was a Member of the Advisory Board from 1995 to 2000.

1995
1996

The Millennium Debate of the Age

Chai was a Member of the Health and Care Study Group, which published one of the ‘Millenium Papers’ as part of the Millennium Debate of the Age which ran from 1996 to 1999. Established by Age Concern, England, the Millennium Debate of the Age was a prestigious, end-of-century examination of crucial issues surrounding the welfare of older people. 

1996
1997

Better Regulation Task Force

From 1997 to 2002 Chai was appointed to the Government’s Better Regulation Task Force where he led several of its Reports including those on Long Term Care, Early Years Education and Red Tape Affecting Head Teachers.

He also contributed to the Minority Report of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care for the Elderly published in March 1999. This led to the separation of funding of nursing care from accommodation and other needs.

1997
1997

Governor of the National Institute of Social Work

Chai was a Governor of the National Institute of Social Work from July 1997 until the organisation’s closure in 2003.He was part of the working group which developed the basis for the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

1997
1997

Member of the Advisory Committee to the Governing Body of Pembroke College, Oxford

1997
1997

Care First acquired by Bupa

1997
1998

Department of Health - Advisory Group

From 1998 to 1999, Chai served as a Member of the  Advisory Group chaired by Kina, Lady Averbury on Benchmark Standards for Residential and Nursing Home Care

1998
1998

Won the National Care Awards Care Personality of the Year

1998

1999 to 2007

1999

Buyout of Westminster Health Care

In 1999 Chai led the buyout of Westminster Health Care, one of the UK’s largest independent providers of healthcare services. The buyout was backed by Goldman Sachs and Welsh Carson. Chai was appointed Chief Executive Officer and successfully turned around and sold the Diagnostics business. He then acquired the Priory Hospitals, which were combined with Westminster’s mental health hospitals.

1999
1999

Awarded CBE by HM the Queen

In 1999’s Birthday Honours, Chai was recognised for his services to the development of social care policies and was made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by HM the Queen.

1999
1999 - 2000

Chairman of the Continuing Care Conference

1999 - 2000
1999 - 2001

Member of the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work

1999 - 2001
1999 - 2002

Member of the British Medical Association’s Committee on Community Care

1999 - 2002
2000 - 2011

Trustee at the Windsor Leadership

Chai served as a Trustee for Windsor Leadership – an organisation which delivers facilitated peer-to-peer learning for senior leaders from the public sector, private sector, third sector and the uniformed services. Windsor Leadership has been delivering leadership development for over 25 years. The foundations for Windsor Leadership were laid in 1981 when the ‘Windsor Meetings’ were set up with an aim to tackle the big issues in society.

2000 - 2011
2000 - 2010

Advisor and Trustee for the Institute of Public Policy Research

Chai served as a Trustee and Advisor to the Institute of Public Policy Research. Founded in 1988 the IPPR is a centre-left think tank based in London with offices in Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh. It continues to be a highly influential thought leader in the UK.

2000 - 2010
2000

Appointed to the NHS Modernisation Team

Chai was appointed to a working group to formulate a National Plan for the NHS and served between April and August 2000

2000
2000 - 2002

Trustee - Help the Aged

Using his knowledge and experience of the health and social care sector, Chai served as a Trustee for the UK’s leading charity for older people, Help the Aged.

2000 - 2002
2000

Appointed as a Member of the Older People's Task Force

2000
2001

Companion of the Chartered Management Institute (formerly the Institute of Management)

2001
2002 - 2007

Buyout of the Priory Group

In 2002, Chai led the buyout of the aforementioned world-famous Priory Group, a specialist mental health and education service provider, with the backing of Doughty Hanson. From 2002 to 2007 he served as Chief Executive Officer and indeed, Chai was the architect of the modern Priory Group – leading a company of 6,000 healthcare staff, consultants, teachers, therapists and nurses with the added pressure of considerable media attention (given the high-profile nature of the Priory’s VIP client base). During his five years at the Priory Group, Chai expanded the range of services provided and oversaw improved services and a significant increase in the company’s reputation and value.

2002 - 2007
2002

Received an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University

2002
2004

PRIAE (Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity)

Chai has been with PRIAE since 2004 and as Patron has brought to bear his knowledge and expertise of healthcare policy issues.

2004
2005 - 2007

Senior Associate of the Kings Fund

Chai’s knowledge of the health and social care sector was attractive for the Kings Fund when he acted as a Senior Associate for this leading healthcare think tank. Chai was a member of an independent working group examining the changing landscape of NHS funded services – contributing to an important report published in 2006.

2005 - 2007
2007 - 2018

Court Cavendish reborn as a Healthcare Turnaround Specialist Company

Chai left the Priory Group in 2007 at which point he bought back the Court Cavendish name from Bupa. In 2008, the re-established Court Cavendish acquired Care Management Group (CMG), a provider of services to people with learning disabilities which was struggling to provide even the minimum standards of care and was on the brink of collapse. Chai became Deputy Chairman and through his strong leadership, with the support of his newly developed turnaround team, transformed the company’s delivery and financial performance. This culminated in CMG being recognised as a high quality, multi-award winning company, ultimately acquired by AMP in 2018, in one of UK healthcare’s most successful turnarounds to date.

2007 - 2018

2008 to 2019

2008

Founded Bright Future Trust

In 2008 Chai and his family founded the Bright Future Trust, a charitable organisation which has to date “invested for impact” over £2 million in charitable causes focussing on delivering a brighter future for children and young people facing adversity. Although based in the UK, investment has been across the world in both start up and established charitable organisations. In addition, Chai and his family have donated a further £2.5 million to charitable causes.

2008
2008

Co-founded Elysian Capital

In 2008 Chai co-founded Elysian Capital, a mid-market private equity firm specialising in investments between £10m and £100m in a broad range of industries in the UK. Investors include pension funds, insurance companies as well as family offices. Returns to date have been above expectations. 

2008
2011 - 2019

Founded HC-One

Early in 2011 Chai Patel took the biggest gamble in his long and successful career as a doctor, an investment banker/entrepreneur and, latterly, as a philanthropist. He agreed to lead a recovery management team for the rump of the bankrupt Southern Cross care home group consisting of 250 homes, 15,000 staff and 11,000 elderly residents. Within 6 months the new business had been re-launched as HC-One, the UK’s third largest care provider, under a new management team with Chai at its helm.

From the beginning of HC-One the focus of the business has been on kindness, given Chai’s aim was to deliver the “kindest care in the UK”. By investing in the training and professional development of his colleagues, Chai and the leadership team helped build a brand which truly has kindness at its heart.

Until his retirement in October 2019 Chai served as Chairman of HC-One, as well as four years as Chief Executive. Under his leadership a care home group in crisis grew into the largest care home provider in the UK and a vibrant and successful business employing over 23,000 people in over 329 care homes. Chai retains a significant stake in the business.

2011 - 2019
2011

Chairman of BBC Media Action Catalyst Fund

Chai has been a supporter of the BBC Media Action Catalyst Fund and has both funded it and acted as its Chairman. The BMACF is an organisation launched in 2011 seeking to provide small proportions of matched funding needed to secure larger grants. BBC Media Action reaches more than 100 million people across the world each year. Chai continues to remain an active supporter of BBC Media Action whose primary goal is to use the power of media and communication to help reduce poverty and support people in understanding their rights.

2011
2011

Took part in Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire

In 2011 Chai was invited by Channel 4 to take part in the critically acclaimed and award-winning programme ‘Secret Millionaire’. During the show Chai was filmed living in a deprived area of Sheffield. Witnessing the real impact of deprivation Chai donated to the three charities in the city which were featured in the programme. Chai found this experience as one of the most “rewarding and inspirational” times of his life.

2011
2012

'Social Entrepreneur of the Year ' Asian Business Awards 2012

2012
2012

Federation of Patidar Associations' Award 2012 (Gujariti, Hindu, Patel Community organisation)

2012
2012

Carried the Olympic Torch as part of the London 2012 Olympic Games

2012
2012

Won National Care Awards Care Personality of the Year for a second time

Chai also won Health Investor’s highly prestigious Outstanding Contribution Award in 2012, as well as heading up the prestigious Power 50 Awards in 2014.

2012
2013

Received an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University

In 2013 Sheffield Hallam University awarded Chai an Honorary Doctorate for his Services to Healthcare and to the Community.

2013
2015

Vice President of Combat Stress

Chai has been a long-standing supporter of the 100-year old veteran charity Combat Stress. In 2015 after  chairing The Enemy Within Appeal which raised over £30 million for British veterans, Chai was appointed Vice President of the charity. Since being founded in 1919 Combat Stress has supported the mental health of more than 100,000 veterans. The fundraising campaign chaired by Chai is one of the most successful ever held by a veterans’ mental health charity. 

2015
2019

Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Knight Frank Healthcare & Senior Living Dinner

Chai was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Knight Frank Healthcare & Senior Living Dinner 2019 in recognition of his significant contributions to the health and social care sector over more than 40 years.

2019
2020 and Beyond!

From Management to Investment

With a 35-year career in healthcare, Dr Chai Patel is an industry expert. Ranging from practising medicine, investment, business development, healthcare management and philanthropy Chai’s knowledge and experience are second to none.

Chai has been recognised by HM the Queen, his industry, leading universities and others for his contribution to the delivery of care and philanthropy through the years.

 In October 2019 Chai retired as Chairman of HC-One, where he remains on the Investment Board.  He continues to be Chairman of Elysian Capital, Court Cavendish, Royal Madikwe and Red Rickshaw and is on the Board of Elevation Healthcare Partners. 

He is Chairman of the HC-One Foundation and The Bright Future Trust. As he has done for years, he informally advises other charities on a pro-bono basis.  In recent years, Chai has made further investments in tech- start-ups in healthcare, hospitality, environmental and e-commerce.

2020 and Beyond!

Dr Chai Patel

CBE FRCP

All rights reserved. Copyright © Court Cavendish Ltd 2019.

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Dr
Chai
Patel

CBE FRCP

All rights reserved. Copyright © Court Cavendish Ltd 2020.