Alice Thursfield

Alice is a Senior Associate within the Commercial Group, specialising in the regulation of health and social care services. Alice’s experience also includes advising on wider regulatory matters relating to Ofsted, DBS, NMC and SWE disputes.

Alice advises and acts for providers on regulatory matters in respect of a range of services and settings covering: residential care and nursing homes; GP surgeries; independent hospitals; children’s homes; domiciliary care services; services for people with learning disabilities; specialist training providers in the adult social care sector and patient transport services.

She has a range of drafting experience including appeals to the Care Standards Tribunal (First Tier), Representation to CQC in respect of enforcement action, Factual Accuracy and Ratings Review challenges to the CQC. Alice also has issued judicial review proceedings to the High Court in relation to disputed inspection reports for both CQC and Ofsted. Alice’s experience covers regulatory due diligence projects for sales, purchases and investment for some of the largest care providers in the sector.

Alice also regularly undertakes work in Coroner’s inquests matters, safeguarding matters and police investigations in respect of criminal prosecutions of care providers. She has experience in challenging local authority decisions in respect of funding and Care Act matters. Alice provides advice to providers in respect of contract compliance with both CMA and LGO guidance. She also provides urgent support to providers in respect of contact with the media in relation to enforcement action.

Alice is a Senior Associate in Lester Aldridge's Health & Social Care team, specialising in regulatory, public law and governance matters affecting health and social care providers.

She joined Lester Aldridge in 2017 as an Employment Paralegal before completing her training contract with seats in Corporate, Care and Employment. Alice qualified as a Solicitor in September 2020 and was promoted to Associate in 2024 and Senior Associate in 2025.

Alice advises providers across the adult and children's care sectors on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters, with particular expertise in CQC, CIW and Ofsted regulation, enforcement action, inspections, ratings challenges and Judicial Review proceedings.

Trustee, Lewis-Manning Hospice Care

Chair, Clinical Governance Committee, Lewis-Manning Hospice Care

Alice is regularly involved with drafting articles for sector publications and enjoys speaking at and attending events within the sector.

Alice acts for:

National and regional care home providers

Domiciliary care agencies

Children's home operators

Independent hospitals

GP practices

Learning disability service providers

Patient transport providers

Adult social care training organisations

Individual healthcare and social care professionals

In 2025, she was shortlisted for the HealthInvestor Power List Award (One to Watch – Investment and Adviser) and the Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care (WAGS) Rising Star Award.

Clients have described Alice as an "outstanding regulatory lawyer" who brings "kindness, compassion and empathy" to her work.

Successfully represented a domiciliary care service in defending action by CQC to impose conditions on its registration through an appeal to the FTT.

Successfully increased a provider’s service rating from Requires Improvement to Good by CQC through the ratings review mechanism and obtained the removal of a breach of Regulation 12.

Prevented Ofsted enforcing a condition on a provider’s registration.

Worked with the team on regulatory due diligence in respect of sales and acquisitions of many of the largest national groups in the sector.

Supporting both nursing and care providers throughout the inquest process and providing support to staff in drafting witness statements along with attendance with Counsel and representation at inquest hearings.

Acting for care providers in successfully challenging CQC reports during the factual accuracy process.

Issuing High Court judicial review proceedings against CQC and Ofsted.

Successfully obtained a withdrawal and factual accuracy amendment of a CQC report post publication.

Providing support and advice to professionals subject to regulatory action undertaken by regulators such as the NMC, SWE and DBS.

Acting on a large governance review project for a major children’s home provider including review of recent enforcement action undertaken by Ofsted.

Drafting letters before claim to CQC and Ofsted in respect of public law concerns ahead of Judicial Review action.

Successfully obtained further funding for a provider from the local authority.

Drafting new CMA compliant contracts for care providers and providing ancillary advice as to FNC disputes in the context of contracts.

Alice advises some of the UK's largest social care organisations on regulatory, governance and transactional matters.

Her experience includes:

CQC, CIW and Ofsted enforcement action and inspection challenges

Care Standards Tribunal appeals

Factual Accuracy and Ratings Review submissions

Judicial Review proceedings against regulators

Regulatory due diligence for acquisitions, disposals and investment transactions

Governance reviews and organisational restructures

Coroner's inquests and safeguarding investigations

Criminal investigations involving care providers

Local authority funding and Care Act disputes

Professional disciplinary and fitness to practise proceedings

Consumer law and CMA compliance within the care sector

University of Exeter

Bachelor of Laws (LLB), First Class Honours

Bournemouth University

Legal Practice Course (LPC), Merit

Finalist, One to Watch – Investment and Adviser

HealthInvestor Power List Awards 2025

2025

Finalist, Rising Star

WAGS Awards

2025

Alice specialises in the regulation of health and social care services across both adult and children's sectors. She advises providers regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and Ofsted on inspections, enforcement action, registration matters, governance reviews, ratings challenges and public law issues.

She also advises on transactional regulatory due diligence, safeguarding matters, coroner's inquests, funding disputes and professional regulatory investigations involving the DBS, NMC, HCPC and Social Work England.

England and Wales