Voices of Care

Richard Washington and Philip Luce | Bupa | Voices of Care

“It’s probably never been more important for public and private to work together.”
That was the clear message from a recent Voices of Care conversation with Bupa leaders Richard Washington and Philip Luce.
Key messages include:
- The role of employers driving private health insurance: Bupa’s data suggests private healthcare can materially improve workforce productivity, with SMEs gaining the equivalent of weeks of additional capacity each year.
- Connected care pathways. “The big challenge in healthcare is those seamless end-to-end journeys,” Richard Washington noted — from GP to diagnostics to specialist care.
- Need for greater alignment between public and private provision. “I don’t think people should see the private sector as competitors to the NHS,” Philip Luce argued.
Alongside this, Richard and Phillip discussed other longer-term trends including genomics (a “huge unlock” for earlier intervention), role of prevention and growing interest in value-based healthcare.
Taken together, these signals point to a system transitioning toward a more integrated, multi-actor model of care.
The question now is not whether this shift is happening — but how it is shaped.

William Roberts | Royal Society for Public Health | Voices of Care

Many commentators decry the "nanny state" yet a clear message from William Roberts, CEO at the Royal Society for Public Health, in our latest Voices of Care podcast challenges this narrative. As he says:
 
" People want to be healthy, and the public overwhelmingly want their governments  to support them to stay healthy"
 
William speaks so passionately about the Prevention agenda and the role that Public Health is and can play to support workers, employers and all communities. He confirms that employers can be more pro-active as "we know that the reason people are dropping out of work is because they have lots of health problems.
 
Perhaps most importantly, as figures show life expectancy falling in our country, he highlights that we need to address the fact that there are stark inequalities in life expectancy.
 
His message offers hope as he highlights the broader public health workforce that could be trained and deployed to address all of the above and invites us all to truly be leaders as " public health is everybody's responsibility"
 
William also covers the role of the NHS, the Men's Health Strategy and much more in an episode you will not want to miss 
 

Care England Annual Conference 2026 | Offical Podcast Partner

United we stand- Social Care's Moment Must be Now
 
As official podcast partners to the Care England Annual Conference we are delighted to share the latest Voices of Care episode featuring 7 leaders from the sector; a golden thread running through this episode (echoing the "Stand by me" theme of the Conference ) is the call for the sector to unite and be recognised for its contribution. 
 
In the words of Professor Martin Green "there has never been a more important time for the sector to show unity" while Care England colleague Fraser Rickatson  called for the Government to invest more toward the Fair Pay Agreement.
 
Honouring the workforce, fostering leadership and driving collaboration across the system were some of the themes highlighted by guests Rebekah Cresswell, Andrea Kincade and Peter Kinsey.
 
Tim Davies was strident in reminding us all to acknowlege the contribution of the international workforce:  we need to look after and value are that the workers that we have who weren't born in the UK
 
And Nuno Santos Lopes speaks passionately about the profound role care homes are and can play in palliative care.

Life Sciences, the NHS and Economic Growth | Voices of Care

In a landmark episode of the Voices of Care podcast, hosted by Suhail Mirza and sponsored by Newcross Healthcare, three of the UK's most respected figures in health policy and life sciences deliver a frank and urgent assessment of the opportunities and obstacles facing the NHS, Government and the Life Sciences sector. They are Bill Morgan, Senior Partner at Newmarket Strategy and advisor to two government administrations; Sarah Woolnough, CEO of the King's Fund; and Maria Tereno, Managing Director for Boehringer Ingelheim UK and Ireland.
 
Declaration of involvement
Boehringer did not fund or commission this podcast and had no editorial control over its content or any related materials. The podcast was checked for factual inaccuracies only

"Social Care-The Big Questions" | Skills for Care, Oonagh Smyth CBE | Voices of Care

Professor Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care, joins Suhail Mirza on Voices of Care for their third conversation — and there's a lot to cover. Fresh from a CBE and securing a new three-year government contract, Oonagh reflects on what the latest annual workforce report really tells us: vacancy rates are falling, but the picture underneath is far more complex. They dig into the demographic pressures heading our way, why investing in training is one of the smartest retention tools providers have right now, and what the shift to neighbourhood-based care means for social care's place in the system. Plus, Oonagh shares the personal story that shaped her lifelong commitment to equality and inclusion — and why she refuses to let up on it.

"Poverty really affects a child's chances right into adulthood."| Rukshana Kapasi OBE | Voices of Care

In a powerful episode of the Voices of Care podcast (sponsored by Newcross Healthcare), Rukshana Kapasi OBE, Director of Health at Barnardo's, has issued an urgent call for the government to back its ambitious child health policies with concrete metrics and genuine partnership with the voluntary sector - or risk seeing children's health fall down the priority list once again. 

Chief Nurses | Duncan Burton & Karen Bonner | Voices of Care

In this episode of Voices of Care, Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, and Karen Bonner, Chief Nurse for London, discuss the pressures facing the nursing profession and their vision for its future. They address critical issues including corridor care, maternity service inequalities, and the urgent need to shift healthcare from hospitals to community settings.

"NHS Imposing Huge Costs on Itself" | Helen Dent | Voices of Care

The NHS is imposing "huge costs on itself" through outdated funding practices that are simultaneously draining budgets and blocking access to innovative diagnostic technologies, according to Helen Dent, Chief Executive of the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA), speaking on Newcross Healthcare's Voices of Care podcast with host Suhail Mirza. In a wide-ranging conversation recorded to discuss the Government ten-year health plan and vision for Life Sciences, Dent delivered a stark assessment of how the healthcare system's approach to diagnostics—which underpins so much clinical decision making—is creating a perfect storm of wasted resources and missed opportunities. 

"If we want to provide really good services to our population, we have to make sure they are inclusive"| Ben Travis | Voices of Care

CEO of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust shares leadership lessons on eliminating racial disparities in staff treatment and preparing for the Government's 10-Year Health Plan: ”We have got to be able to take the pressure off our hospitals. They suck up way more resource now, in terms of percentage of the healthcare budget, than they ever did before."

"Current Training Models Not Fit For Purpose" | Mumtaz Patel | Voices of Care

In a compelling episode of on Voices of Care, Professor Mumtaz Patel, the 123rd President of the Royal College of Physicians and the first South Asian woman to lead the oldest medical Royal College, delivered an urgent assessment of the mounting pressures facing NHS doctors and set out her vision for transforming medical education for the 21st century.