King's Fund Industry Briefing | More than just hype: how emerging AI use is assisting health and social care
2pm – 3pm17 September 2025
Online
Artificial intelligence is no longer hovering at the edges of the NHS and social-care conversation; it is already changing the texture of everyday work. In its May 2025 long-readMore than just hype: how emerging AI use is assisting health and social care, the King’s Fund moves the debate on from abstract promises to concrete examples.
Radiologists are handing routine “normal” scans to computer-vision algorithms so they can focus on complex findings; paediatricians report that AI-guided ultrasound has kept diagnostic accuracy steady while cutting scan times dramatically; and GPs experimenting with “ambient” AI scribes say they can devote their full attention to the patient rather than half-listening while they mentally compose notes. At the same time, social-care providers are testing generative tools that draft benefit forms and care-package summaries, releasing scarce staff hours for human conversations. Threaded through the report, however, is a note of caution: data bias, “drift” in model performance and silo deployments that push bottlenecks downstream will widen inequalities unless robust governance and cross-pathway planning keep pace with innovation.
Our upcoming industry briefing, “AI Beyond the Hype: unpacking the King’s Fund’s latest insights for health & care”, takes this evidence as its starting point and turns it into an action-oriented discussion for leaders who must decide whether, where and how fast to scale these tools. Over the session, King’s Fund analysts will walk participants through the report’s findings.
By the end of the session, attendees will understand why the early productivity gains described in the King’s Fund analysis are only durable when organisations invest simultaneously in workforce skills, interoperable data infrastructure and continuous bias auditing. They will leave with a clear sense of how their own digital-maturity starting point stacks up against emerging exemplars, a checklist of governance questions to ask before signing the next supplier contract, and a portfolio of practical stories to galvanise colleagues who are still sceptical of “hype”.
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Contact the team
Georgina Maratheftis
Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK
Georgina Maratheftis
Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK
Georgina is techUK’s Associate Director for Local Public Services
Georgina works with suppliers that are active or looking to break into the market as well as with local public services to create the conditions for meaningful transformation. techUK regularly bring together local public services and supplier community to horizon scan and explore how the technologies of today and tomorrow can help solve some of the most pressing problems our communities face and improve outcomes for our people and places.
Prior to techUK, Georgina worked for a public policy events company where she managed the policy briefing division and was responsible for generating new ideas for events that would add value to the public sector. Georgina worked across a number of portfolios from education, criminal justice, and health but had a particular interest in public sector transformation and technology. Georgina also led on developing relationships across central and local government.
If you’d like to learn more about techUK, or want to get involved, get in touch.
Associate Director, Central Government and Education, techUK
Heather Cover-Kus
Associate Director, Central Government and Education, techUK
Heather is Associate Director, Central Government and Education at techUK, working to represent the tech supplier community to Central Government.
She started as Head of Central Government at techUK in April 2022 and was promoted to Associate Director in August 2025 supporting both the Central Government and Education programmes.
Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.
Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.
Associate Director, Defence and National Security, techUK
Fred Sugden
Associate Director, Defence and National Security, techUK
Fred is responsible for techUK's activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working to provide members with access to key stakeholders across the Defence and National Security community. Before taking on the role of Associate Director for Defence and National Security, Fred joined techUK in 2018, working as the Programme Head for Defence at techUK, leading the organisation's engagement with the Ministry of Defence. Before joining techUK, he worked at ADS, the national trade association representing Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space companies in the UK.
Fred is responsible for techUK’s market engagement and policy development activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working closely with various organisations within the Ministry of Defence, and across the wider National Security and Intelligence community. Fred works closely with many techUK member companies that have an interest in these sectors, and is responsible for the activities of techUK's senior Defence & Security Board. Working closely with techUK's Programme Head for Cyber Security, Fred oversees a broad range of activities for techUK members.
Outside of work, Fred's interests include football (a Watford FC fan) and skiing.
Austin leads techUK’s Education and EdTech programme, shaping strategies that support the digital transformation of schools, colleges, and universities. His work focuses on strengthening the UK’s education technology ecosystem, enhancing core technology foundations, and advancing the adoption of emerging technologies to improve educational outcomes.
Austin also chairs the EdTech Advisory Panel for AI in Education, contributing to national discussions on the future of EdTech, AI, and the UK's Education system.
Robert joined techUK in October 2022, where he is now Programme Manager for Health and Social Care.
Robert previously worked at the Pension Protection Fund, within the policy and public affairs team. Prior to this, he worked at the Scottish Parliament, advising politicians and industry stakeholders on a wide range of issues, including rural crime and health policies.
Robert has a degree in Politics and International Relations (MA Hons) from the University of Aberdeen, with a particular focus on strategic studies and energy security. Outside of work he enjoys activities such as running, rugby, boxing and cooking!
Prior to joining techUK, Raya worked in Business Development for an expert network firm within the institutional investment space. Before this Raya spent a year in industry working for a tech start-up in London as part of their Growth team which included the formation and development of a 'Let's Talk Tech' podcast and involvement in London Tech Week.
Raya has a degree in Politics and International Relations (Bsc Hons) from the University of Bath where she focused primarily on national security and counter-terrorism policies, centreing research on female-led terrorism and specific approaches to justice there.
Outside of work, Raya's interests include baking, spin classes and true-crime Netflix shows!
Cinzia joined techUK in August 2023 as the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme Manager.
The JES programme represents suppliers, championing their interests in the blue light and criminal justice markets, whether they are established entities or newcomers seeking to establish their presence.
Prior to joining techUK, Cinzia worked in the third and public sectors, managing projects related to international trade and social inclusion.
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.