MB ChB Manch 1953, MD 1971; DObst RCOG 1957; MRCGP 1965, FRCGP 1980.
Clift was house surgeon at MRI and worked in obstetrics at Ashton-under-Lyne General Hospital before entering general practice. Clift was a senior general practitioner in Middleton, Manchester, and was an honorary lecturer in general practice at the University of Manchester. Clift was also editor of Manchester Medicine and a member of Manchester Medical Society and Manchester Medico-Legal Society.