Murray is a an experience independent healthcare professional with a background in mental health services, social psychology and organisational communications research.
Murray currently divides his time between academia, strategic advisory work and healthcare journalism. He is an Associate member of the Institute of Group Analysis and has a small therapeutic practice, working mainly with people affected by trauma, including medical error.
In the academic domain, Murray is a Visiting Professor at the Health Systems Innovation Lab at London South Bank University where he is co-leading the Darzi Clinical Fellowship Programme. He is former Co-Director at the Centre for Innovation in Health Management at the University of Leeds, where his research interests included new models of care, healthcare networks and patient leadership. He also teaches on the Interdisciplinary MSc in Quality & Safety at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham . He has previously held faculty positions at Birbeck College, University of London; the Centre for Social Research and Practice and Ashridge Management College. He has taught internationally on post graduate programmes in Scandinavia, Ireland, North America and Australia and is an Associate of the Taos Institute in the USA. Murray has contributed to a number of publications on a range of issues associated with strategic communications, collaborative strategy, patient safety and cultural change.
He is co-author – with Professor Becky Malby – of “Networks in Healthcare: Managing Complex Relationships” (Emerald), and is co-editor and publisher of “Joshua’s Story – Uncovering the Morecambe Bay NHS Scandal” by James Titcombe OBE (Anderson Wallace 2015)
As an Special Advisor, he has worked with influential networks such as the Clinical Human Factors Group, NHS Quest and AQuA. He was Faculty Lead for the Health Foundation’s “Organising to Connect” programme, focussing on supporting new and innovative models of organising for quality improvement in healthcare. Murray has also acted as an advisor to various patient safety programmes, currently including the East Midlands Academic Health Science Networks Patient Safety Collaborative, where he is co-leading applied research to improve the quality of learning from serious incident investigations.
Murray led the research, development and launch of PATIENTSTORIES, a body of journalistic work that uses digital and broadcast media to provoke debate about safety and quality in healthcare. As Executive Producer, his role involved working closely with patients and families, journalists, film-makers and quality improvement specialists to ensure and maintain high editorial standards. Murray also occasionally writes and produces for the professional press and broadcast media, including The Health Service Journal, The Nursing Times and The Guardian.
Throughout 2008 Murray worked as Special Advisor to Stephen Ramsden OBE, during his tenure as National Director of the NHS England campaign, Patient Safety First and between February 2009 and March 2010 he was seconded on a part-time basis as Head of Strategy & Communications working with Implementation Director, Dr Suzette Woodward.
His earlier career includes clinical and managerial roles in the NHS followed by a director-level position, working internationally in commercial consulting. In 1999, Murray co-founded Inter-Logics.Net Ltd, a UK-based research and development practice where he was Joint Managing Director for 9 years. In 2008, he established a separate company to develop his work in the field of strategic and media communications.
In NHS England, clients have included Primary Care, Acute and Mental Health Trusts; Strategic Health Authorities and many of the National Agencies. Between 2004 and 2006, Murray was a Specialist Consultant with the Department of Health’s Performance Support Team working with some of the most challenged NHS organisations in the country. Since its formation in 2005 Murray worked extensively as an advisor and consultant to the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, working on flagship projects including “Releasing Time to Care: The Productive Ward” and as a Faculty member for the Safer Care Programme. Murray has also worked with NHS Wales, providing strategic advice and practical development support in relation to partnership working with and between Local Health Boards, County Councils and other key stakeholders.
In the social care sector Murray was part of a team that supported the implementation and evaluation of 28 DH-sponsored strategic workforce development projects across England (on behalf of Sector Skills Council for Social Care) between 2007-09 and led the service evaluation of the projects in the SW of England related to care for older people. Murray has also worked with a number of Local Authorities, Local Strategic Partnerships and Regional Development Agencies on a range of stakeholder engagement initiatives in the context of urban planning and regeneration. In partnership with a number of the UK’s leading environmental and architectural design consultancies and with Yorkshire Forward (RDA for Yorkshire and the Humber) Murray worked on the Urban Renaissance Programme between 2005-06.
In 2008, Murray was appointed as a non-executive director of Audiences Yorkshire, the strategic agency responsible for supporting audience development and engagement in the cultural sector in Yorkshire and Humber region. In November 2010 he was elected Chair and led the Board for three years.
Between 2002-2007 Murray worked closely with award winning director and video artist Mike Stubbs, collaborating on the conceptual development in his artworks ‘Cultural Quarter’, ‘Mother Nature’ and ‘City Strapline Industries’. These works have exhibited at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle; The Institute of Contemporary Art, London, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. In 2005, Murray co-led with Stubbs, the creative team that won the SEEDA/ACE Arts Plus Award for Perfect Citizen, a digital media project exploring issues of social responsibility and public engagement in the context of urban development.
During his time working in the private sector (between 1996-2001) Murray worked with BP Amoco, EDS, Northern Ireland Electricity, London Underground and the Mott MacDonald Group focusing on strategic relationship management and cross boundary collaboration in large infrastructure projects. Murray also gained very considerable international experience, having been significantly involved in projects such as the US Government initiative on digital development within tribal communities (sponsored by a Presidential Board) and a major research initiative with the Confederation of Danish Industry and the Central Trade Union of Denmark to foster cross boundary working in Industrial settings.