techUK Health and Care Summit 2026

Sally Warren

Director General Adult Social Care, Department of Health and Social Care

Sally Warren is the Director General for Adult Social Care since July 2025. She was the interim DG for Adult Social Care but was appointed permanently since 30 October 2025. Previously she was the Director General for 10-year health plan, leading a joint DHSC and NHS England team.

Prior to this, Sally was the Director of Policy for five years at The King’s Fund. Sally has over 20 years of experience working in health and care, with roles including Director for Social Care Policy at DHSC, Director of Programmes at Public Health England, Director of EU Exit Preparedness and Response at Defra and Deputy Chief Inspector at Care Quality Commission.

Ahmed Binesmael

Senior Policy Analyst, The Health Foundation

Ahmed leads the Health Foundation’s research exploring public and staff attitudes towards AI, technology and data use in health care, with a broader interest in how existing and emerging technologies can be implemented responsibly and effectively to improve care, support patients and staff, and inform health policy and wider system transformation. Prior to joining the Health Foundation, Ahmed was a Senior Policy Adviser at the British Medical Association, where he developed costed policy proposals aimed at influencing government policy and supporting doctor-led health policy initiatives, including modelling the cost of pay restoration for doctors. His wider research and analysis have also contributed to policy work across digital infrastructure, pensions, public health, general practice, and long COVID

Professor Alastair Denniston

Chair, National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)

Professor Alastair Denniston is Professor of Regulatory Science and Innovation at the University of Birmingham and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHSFT. He is a leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Health Technologies. 

Professor Denniston is an NIHR Senior Investigator, Member of the Regulatory Horizons Council to the UK Government, Non-Executive Director to the Health Research Authority, AI Strategic Advisor to Health Data Research UK, Director of the NIHR-funded Incubator of AI & Digital Healthcare and Director of the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Regulatory Science in AI & Digital HealthTech (CERSI-AI). Advisory work includes to international regulators and ministries of health, and to the WHO. He is also the Chair of the MHRA’s National Commission on the Regulation of AI in Healthcare. 

Matthew Payne

Head of Policy & Marketing, Healthtech 1

No bio provided

Dr Bushra Effendi

Clinical Director o, Yorkshire Women's Forum

Dr Effendi is a highly experienced pharmacist with nearly two decades of practice across hospital, GP, and community pharmacy settings. As a qualified Independent Prescriber, she specialises in women's health, with a particular focus on menopause and contraception, and she sits on the Clinical Advisory Panel of The Menopause Charity. She is also an active member of the British Menopause Society and the CoSRH Courses and CPD Committee. 

She is the founder and Principal Practitioner of ELMAR Health Service, and Clinical Director of the Yorkshire Women's Forum.