Healthcare has never been more politically charged, technologically disruptive, or economically complex, and the decisions being made right now will shape the sector for the next generation.
On 19 March 2026, Portland’s Healthcare and Life Sciences team brought together corporate and public affairs leaders for an event “The future of healthcare: innovation, investment and influence — what corporate and public affairs leaders need to know in 2026“. Hosted by Portland’s CEO Simon Whitehead and Daisy Thomas, Managing Partner and Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences, the event featured wide-ranging discussion with three speakers exploring healthcare from the perspectives of policy and influence, AI and innovation and healthcare economics and investment:
- The Rt Hon Jonathan Ashworth CBE, former Labour MP and former Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
- Dr Stephanie Kuku, Chief Knowledge Officer at Conceivable Life Sciences and Senior Advisor on AI to the World Health Organization
- Sebastien Jantet, Healthcare Analyst at Panmure Liberum
What emerged across the three areas of discussion – politics, technology and investment – was a remarkably consistent diagnosis. The healthcare sector’s most pressing challenge is not a shortage of ideas, funding or innovation. It is a deepening deficit of trust, and a widespread failure to communicate clearly enough to close it.
When good policy isn’t enough
Governments around the world are grappling with the fundamental tension that healthcare systems require significant, sustained investment, but the public is increasingly sceptical about where that money goes and whether it improves healthcare.
The UK offers a specific illustration here. The National Insurance increase announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget was designed in part to inject substantial funding into the NHS, but attendees discussed whether that connection was clearly enough communicated to the public.
This pattern is not unique to the UK. With electoral cycles shortening the window for visible progress, attendees discussed how governments cannot afford to let good policy be undermined by poor communication. In an era of public scepticism and political volatility, the ability to articulate the value of health investment clearly, consistently and in terms that resonate with the public, is itself a form of governance.
AI’s potential is real, but so is the credibility gap
AI-powered diagnostics are already detecting cancers earlier and more accurately. Beyond diagnostics, AI is reshaping drug design, clinical trials and the fundamental architecture of how healthcare is delivered. The potential is already being realised in a number of healthcare settings. For example, the NHS is already piloting AI-enabled diagnostic pathways in lung and prostate cancer.
But the gap between what AI can do and what the public believes it can do remains wide. A strong consensus emerged between attendees that communicating outcomes, not just possibilities, is what will move public and policymaker trust. Storytelling must be a strategic priority, not an afterthought.
Where credible outcomes aren’t being communicated about the impact of AI in healthcare, doubt moves in among patients, policymakers and international stakeholders alike. As one speaker put it, the gap is not just between discovery and delivery, it is between what the sector knows and what the world believes. This is something that both government and industry have an important role in advocating. Until that closes, trust will continue to lag behind innovation.
Tariffs, uncertainty and shifting geopolitical pressures
The investor perspective brought a sharp focus to a landscape shaped by tariffs, market access uncertainty and shifting geopolitical dynamics. The post-COVID period has left the healthcare industry better capitalised and more resilient, but new pressures are accumulating. Anti-vaccine rhetoric, pricing barriers discouraging investment in the UK and EU markets and significant uncertainty around regulatory approvals are all creating meaningful headwinds.
Capital that once flowed predictably is now fragmenting. AI infrastructure and MedTech are attracting investment but for pharma, there is an ongoing debate about launch markets and sequence. Private healthcare and insurance products are seeing strong growth, driven by evolving expectations around access to care, particularly in primary care.
Underlying this are the same structural challenges that run through the political and technology landscapes – a cascading deficit of trust. Governments are uncertain they can deliver, investors are cautious about returns and the public remains unconvinced. Capital is available, but as one attendee observed, the challenge for most organisations isn’t access to funding, it’s the ability to breakthrough. Communicating that what you’re offering drives measurable change has become the price of entry.
Discussion at the event showed how the healthcare and life sciences sector is navigating simultaneous political, technological and economic disruptions. The organisations that will emerge strongest are not those defending the old model or chasing a new one, they are the ones who understand the full landscape and are flexible enough to adapt to it.
To find out more about how Portland’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice can support your organisation, please contact Daisy Thomas, Managing Partner and Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences.
