Lifeways CEO talks Wear It Orange Week, AI and the future of complex care at Healthcare Summit 2026

Lifeways Chief Executive Andrea Kinkade took centre stage at this year’s Healthcare Summit in London, showing her support for Wear It Orange Week and sharing her insights on artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of complex care. 

Andrea joined Tony Romero, CEO of Cygnet, for the Complex Care CEO Panel at the Business Design Centre in London on Tuesday (September 22), where they discussed some of the key opportunities and challenges facing the sector. 

Reflecting on the event, Andrea said: “It was an honour to join the Complex Care CEO Panel at the Healthcare Summit again. I was very kindly invited back after last year’s event, so it was great to return and reflect on how much has changed and progressed over the past 12 months. 

“It’s always valuable to have the opportunity to come together with others across the sector, share our experiences and look at how we can continue to improve the support we provide.” 

For the session, Andrea wore an orange dress in support of the Care Workers’ Charity’s Wear It Orange Week, a week-long campaign celebrating the incredible contribution of care workers across the UK. 

Explaining why the campaign is important to her, Andrea said: “I’m dressed pretty much head to toe in orange today in recognition of our fabulous care workers - not just those at Lifeways, but everyone working across the care sector. 

“We’re constantly trying to champion the incredible work care workers do and highlight just how important they are. We’re proud to stand behind the Care Workers’ Charity and support the work they’re doing to make sure care workers get the recognition and support they deserve.” 

AI was a key topic discussed during the session, with Andrea highlighting the opportunities emerging from the technology as the sector looks to improve outcomes and experiences for the people it supports. 

Lifeways has been recognised for its own use of AI through the implementation of its AI Support Plan Quality Checker, which helps teams review support plans more efficiently by replacing manual and inconsistent processes with a standardised, scalable solution. The innovation recently saw Lifeways win the Data Driven Care Award at the inaugural Digital Excellence in Care Awards, run by Nourish. 

Looking ahead, Andrea said she was excited about the potential of AI to transform the sector, describing its future impact as potentially “exponential”. 

“We’ve got some fabulous people across Lifeways, and we’ve recently welcomed our new Head of Data and AI, so we’re really excited to see what he can help us achieve,” she said. 

“I think we’ve made great progress already, but it’s really important that we continue to invest in our expertise and stay ahead of the curve. 

“Ultimately, it’s about using technology in the right way – to support better outcomes for the people we support, while also improving the experience for our teams.”