We may look back on 2024 in future as a year of transition. With the election of a new government promising major healthcare reforms we now know the broad outline of the direction that UK healthcare might be heading in the coming years, if not any concrete detail.
Plenty of ink has been spilled over the crisis gripping the healthcare ecosystem. But there are plenty of opportunities for businesses in the sector to capitalise on a market ripe for reform.
Here we take a look at little closer at the future of healthcare and the trends and themes likely to shape the conversation around healthcare in 2025.
Opportunities for the private sector to capitalise on NHS reform?
The arrival of the new Labour government in July this year injected fresh impetus into the national conversation on the long-term sustainability of the UK’s healthcare system and how future provision will be delivered.
There is broad consensus that the status quo is not tenable if the UK is to reverse trends of decline in availability and quality of healthcare services. Wes Streeting has made much of his desire for greater private sector involvement in the NHS to drive change and support patients but we are yet to see a long-term strategic vision for reform beyond the £20bn of extra funding required to stave off the immediate crisis.
In 2025, we can expect to hear much more from the Health Secretary on the future of healthcare provision and healthcare providers will need to be proactive about seizing the commercial opportunities that come with it.
Healthcare and the worklessness crisis
Obesity has been the major healthcare theme of 2024. The boom in popularity of weight loss injections and the potential for these drugs to reverse decades of growth for obesity rates.
This is likely to continue into next year, but we should anticipate other themes to take centre stage.
Soaring rates of worklessness exacerbated by the Covid pandemic are the next major crisis for the government to tackle. With ill health one of the key drivers of the 11 million people aged 16-64 currently out of work, the role of healthcare in stemming the flow of people from the workforce and supporting people back into the labour market will be top of the agenda. Expect particular opportunities for businesses focused on mental health and weight management.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
We’ve previously covered the renewed focus on preventative healthcare as a means of tackling NHS waiting lists and improving the health of the nation. Covid reshaped the relationship consumers have with managing their own health and familiarised people with important preventative tools like diagnostic tests.
That focus will continue in 2025 bringing significant commercial opportunities for businesses in the space. From wearable health tech and diagnostics to lifestyle support and supplements, preventative healthcare will be near the top of the agenda.
The social determinants beyond treatment
Healthcare is only one part of ‘health’ yet discourse often centres on the traditional medical model of healthcare. In 2025, we can expect increased focus on the systemic factors that shape individual and community health – from housing and economic stability to education and environmental quality.
This recognition that health outcomes are deeply intertwined with broader social conditions has been acknowledged by Labour’s catchy “neighbourhood health service”, where shifting care from “hospitals to communities” is a “fundamental” part of reform.
But getting this message across isn’t always easy, often involving complex data on health outcomes. What does resonate is the real-life impact and there’s an opportunity here to tell interconnected stories about health. By turning evidence into compelling, actionable insights, businesses can play a role in shifting public perception and driving more holistic approaches to community wellbeing.
Grassroots support – collaboration not cost-saving
Against a backdrop of severe funding constraints, grassroots initiatives are emerging as a critical lifeline, filling gaps that overstretched institutional healthcare cannot address. Community-led health programmes, often operating on shoestring budgets, are demonstrating efficiency in tackling localised health challenges, leveraging local knowledge and volunteer networks to deliver targeted interventions.
But this isn’t about relying on charities to pick up the pieces, rather viewing healthcare as a collaborative, community-driven ecosystem. For businesses who are part of this, this represents an opportunity to develop innovative solutions that support and scale these grassroots efforts, creating more comprehensive and equitable health approaches that work with local community networks.
If you would like to discuss any of the trends in more detail and what they might potentially mean for your business, get in touch with our Healthcare team today.