The future of health: enabling home and community care in the UK

Last week, I spoke on a Re:State panel – Re:Imagining Health 2025, focused on a key UK healthcare challenge: shifting more care from hospitals into homes and communities. The event reinforced the shared opportunity and responsibility across sectors to make this shift work for both patients and the wider system. 

As General Manager at UCB UK & Ireland, I believe the life sciences sector is a critical enabler. We're not bystanders, we’re active participants. Through research and innovation, we can help deliver more accessible, community-based care. 

I’m originally from Belgium and have worked in China, the U.S. and Europe, but one of the lessons I’ve learnt is universal: hospitals shouldn’t be the default care setting. That’s what makes working in the UK so compelling. In my first year here, I’ve seen the NHS’s incredible strengths and the pressures it faces. The UK’s 10-Year Health Plan outlines the need to rebalance care and its ambitious plans to set up Neighbourhood Health Service locations. I believe the industry has a vital role to play in ensuring hospitals are preserved for critical cases, while supporting patients to manage care at home with the right tools, treatments and support. 

We all agree care should shift closer to home, but making it happen is complex. Success takes time, resources and coordinated effort. The UK has many strengths, like a single-payer system and world-class science, but challenges remain, including investment gaps, regional inequalities, workforce strain and the need to support people to be active participants in their own care. 

A major risk is that people living in the UK have less access to treatments than those living in other countries, even though many treatments are discovered here. Between 2019-2023, 46% of new medicines reached UK patients versus 85% in Germany, and even approved treatments can face delays in adoption. Whilst our updated 10-year plan recognises the impact medicines have on health, society and the economy, there is still a lack of concrete commitment to increasing the government’s investment in medicines. We need a more agile, pro-innovation system, where UK patients benefit first from UK science. Community-based care must also be inclusive to remove the disparities in access to advanced therapies and trials, especially in deprived areas. Equity must be embedded, from research through to delivery. 

Despite the complexity, there’s alignment across the NHS, industry, government and academia – the current model isn’t sustainable. The focus now must be on access, speed, scale, funding and integration, to be able to turn our vision into action. 

At UCB, we’re proud to contribute – developing medicines that can be administered at home, pushing for regulatory reform and expanded access to medicines for patients who need them most. 

Now is the moment for bold, coordinated action across key stakeholders to improve the health of the nation and those that live in it. 

#UCBUK #UCBIreland