The King's Fund annual conference 2026 (In-person)

The future of health and care will not be shaped by ambition alone, but by the choices we make now.

Our Annual Conference provides an opportunity to come together to consider what it would mean to have good health for all by 2040 and what is needed to make this possible. We will explore what’s holding us back, what needs to change, and how we do this with people at its heart.

Across the country and beyond, some of the most significant changes shaping health and care are already underway. Advances in technology, particularly artificial intelligence, shifting public expectations, changing workforce dynamics and growing financial pressures are beginning to reshape how care is delivered and experienced.

But these changes are playing out against a system that is struggling to keep pace.

With health inequalities widening, healthy life expectancy falling, and a forecasted doubling of health care spending, there is a growing consensus that the current model cannot continue as it is. This sits alongside a changing political and policy context, shaped by the recent local elections and the recently announced NHS Modernisation Bill, which are likely to influence the direction of health and care in the months and years ahead.

Something has to change.

Bringing together leaders from across health and social care, government and beyond, and drawing on our Good health for all: reimagining the welfare state project, we will examine how the relationship between people, communities and the state is changing, and what this means for the future of health and care.

Together we will explore what’s needed to create a system that can meet the nation’s current and future health needs, acknowledging that good health means different things to different people depending on their circumstances? And we’ll ask, how do we make these big decisions under sustained financial and political challenges?

The format

Through a mix of plenaries and themed sessions – be challenged, learn and do – the conference will offer opportunities to debate, share insight and test ideas. Sessions will combine panel discussions, case studies and interactive workshops, designed to help participants think differently about the future: testing assumptions, and considering what needs to change to move from ambition to practical action, as well as their own role in making change happen.

This conference goes beyond responding to today’s pressures. Together, we’ll look ahead to how we can shape a health and care system that delivers better health for everyone - now and in the decades to come.