Stephanie Hayman, Rachael Anstee and Alex Griffiths in our Healthcare team attended the event, with Stephanie sharing her thoughts…
We recently attended the Healthcare Summit at the Design Centre in London, where investors, operators, advisers and healthcare leaders came together to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of UK health and social care.
One theme was consistent throughout the day in that demand for care continues to grow faster than public sector capacity. Whether discussing diagnostics, mental health, social care, complex care or healthcare investment, panellists repeatedly returned to the same question: how can private capital, innovation and collaboration help bridge the gap?
The UK Remains an Attractive Healthcare Market
The opening sessions focused on healthcare investment trends and the growing interest from international investors, particularly from the United States.
Despite economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures and ongoing challenges across global healthcare systems, the UK continues to be viewed as an attractive market. Public infrastructure constraints and increasing demand for services are creating opportunities for private providers to support healthcare delivery.
Interestingly, the makeup of healthcare transactions is evolving. While the years leading up to 2025 saw significant private equity investment, current activity is increasingly being driven by strategic trade acquirers. Investors are also seeking defensive sectors that offer resilience and protection against the rise of AI, placing healthcare firmly in the spotlight.
Demographics Continue to Drive Demand
One of the most striking discussions centred on changing healthcare needs across the population.
The proportion of the population considered generally healthy has reportedly fallen from 79% to 75% in the last two years. Alongside this, healthcare spending is increasingly concentrated on multi-morbidity, frailty, dementia and end-of-life care.
The implications are significant. An ageing population, increasing obesity rates and more complex long-term conditions are driving greater demand across both health and social care settings. Dementia care in particular was highlighted as an area where demand growth appears almost certain for the foreseeable future, requiring continued investment in both residential and domiciliary care services.
Diagnostics: The Critical Bottleneck
Perhaps the most compelling discussion of the day focused on diagnostics.
Across several sessions, diagnostics was identified as one of the most significant capacity constraints within UK healthcare. The NHS continues to face substantial backlogs, yet many speakers questioned where additional diagnostic capacity will come from given ongoing capital constraints.
Private providers are increasingly seen as part of the solution. Investment into imaging, scanning equipment and diagnostic services was repeatedly highlighted as a major area of future growth. Without sufficient diagnostic capacity, it becomes difficult to move patients through treatment pathways efficiently, regardless of how much additional clinical capacity exists elsewhere in the system.
This was one of the clearest examples of where targeted investment can have a meaningful impact on patient outcomes whilst also creating opportunities for healthcare operators and investors.
Mental Health and Neurodiversity Demand Continues to Grow
The summit also explored the growing pressures within mental health and neurodevelopmental services.
Demand for ADHD assessments and treatment continues to rise sharply, with waiting times for diagnosis increasing significantly and treatment pathways becoming increasingly stretched. The resulting gap between demand and NHS capacity has inevitably led to greater utilisation of private providers.
Similarly, discussions around mental health services highlighted the continued shift towards community-based models of care. With NHS capacity under pressure, there remains considerable debate around the role private providers can play in delivering the investment and infrastructure required to meet growing demand.
Healthcare Investment: Opportunities and Areas of Caution
When discussing future M&A activity, panellists identified several attractive areas for investment over the next 12 months:
- Services that expand capacity for the NHS.
- Community-based care models.
- Premium private-pay healthcare services.
- Technology that demonstrably improves clinical outcomes.
- Pharma and life sciences businesses.
- Occupational health services.
However, there was also a note of caution. Investors remain wary of healthcare technology businesses that cannot clearly demonstrate value creation, areas subject to political uncertainty and markets where funding arrangements remain unclear.
A particular challenge identified was the complexity of NHS procurement. There was broad agreement that greater clarity around responsibilities, funding and incentives would help unlock more private capital into the healthcare sector.
Social Care’s Ongoing Challenge: Quality, Workforce and Funding
The social care CEO panel highlighted many of the sector’s long-standing challenges.
Workforce retention remains one of the biggest priorities for many providers. Organisations are increasingly focused on training, career progression and investing in their people to improve retention and maintain quality standards.
Debate also centred on the proposed Fair Pay Agreement and the broader question of who ultimately funds increased employment costs within the sector. While providers support fair pay, there were concerns that focusing on one group of workers risks overlooking the wider workforce that contributes to delivering high-quality care.
Importantly, social care continues to attract investor interest. Demand fundamentals remain strong, particularly in elderly care, and the sector was widely viewed as one that requires further capital investment if it is to meet growing demand.
There was also recognition that public understanding of profit and margins within social care remains limited. Unlike private healthcare providers delivering NHS contracts, commercial returns within social care are often viewed differently despite the significant investment required to sustain and grow services.
Complex Care: High Demand, High Opportunity
The complex care sessions reinforced the increasing importance of supporting individuals with more specialist and intensive needs within the community.
While the sector presents operational, political and reputational risks, demand continues to grow and the market remains highly fragmented. Successful providers are distinguished by the quality of care they deliver, strong management teams and effective relationships with commissioners.
Many investors continue to see significant opportunity in this area, particularly as healthcare systems increasingly seek alternatives to hospital-based care and focus on supporting people closer to home.
People Remain at the Heart of Success
The CFO panel echoed that healthcare is ultimately a people business.
Finance leaders spoke about creating rewarding careers, supporting flexible working arrangements and recognising the pressures experienced by teams operating within both healthcare and social care environments. As organisations continue to evolve, attracting and retaining talented people remains just as important as securing capital investment.
Final Reflections
The overwhelming message was clear: demand across healthcare and social care will continue to increase, driven by demographic change, rising complexity of care needs and growing public expectations.
However, one issue stood out above all others. If the NHS is to make meaningful progress in reducing waiting lists, significantly greater diagnostic capacity will be required. Without investment in diagnostic infrastructure and services, the wider system will continue to struggle to move patients efficiently through treatment pathways.
At the same time, social care must increasingly be viewed not as a separate challenge but as part of the solution. Supporting people in their own homes, investing in community-based care and strengthening collaboration between healthcare and social care providers will be critical to delivering better outcomes for patients and more sustainable services for the country.
The future of care is unlikely to come from any single organisation or funding model. Instead, it will require a collaborative approach that brings together the NHS, independent providers, investors and social care organisations to create the capacity, innovation and support needed to meet the UK’s growing healthcare demands.
If you would like to discuss any of the themes raised, please get in touch with our Healthcare experts.