Healthcare Conference

Welcome and Introduction

James Gransby, Azets

James will be selecting the most topical issues of interest to accountants acting for GP clients. The session will also include a list of things on James’ agenda when he is talking with his GP clients and the feedback he is getting from the front line of client meetings when presenting the 31 March 2026 year end accounts.

Ben Gowland, Ockham Healthcare

Ben will outline the current state of play with the various Primary Care contracts in a session allowing for audience participation and designed to give you plenty of interesting insight to give to your GP clients.

Refreshment Break

Paul Gordon, Fidelius

Paul will look to cover the latest information regarding NHS Pensions, including the progress around contingent decisions and how you can assist clients with the information required. He will also discuss the topical areas around accessing pension benefits under both 'retire and return' and partial retirement, accessing a lump sum and the peripheral benefits provided. 

Rachel Crean, VWV

The session will summarise key legal developments affecting healthcare providers and dispute trends, including the impact of AI.

Refreshment Break

Justin Cain, Pinders

This session will provide a general overview of the market factors that have impacted on the performance of dental practices and pharmacies during 2025/26. It will look at how recent changes in the funding provision relating to each are likely to impact on the performance of such businesses in the foreseeable future. 

Lunch Break

Rebecca Benneyworth, Rebecca Benneyworth Training Consultants

This session will cover the key points from Finance Act 2026 likely to affect clients in the healthcare sector. It will include:

• Capital allowances changes from January and April 2026.
• Changes to the taxation of dividends and impact on incorporation and profit extraction.
• Personal tax changes – Income Tax changes in 2027 and later years.
• Inheritance Tax changes in 2026 and 2027.
• Developments in digitisation, including data gathering by HMRC and development of e-invoicing.

Refreshment Break

Mike Blenkharn, UNW

This session will cover:

• practice profit and value trends
• market report, including the large corporate and private equity appetites
• sector lender overview
• associate self-employment for tax and worker status issues
• latest news from the dental financial world.

CPD Hours: 6

James is Partner at Azets dealing exclusively with medical professionals and has worked in the sector for over 20 years. James is a regular contributor to industry press articles having written for Pulse, Practice Management, Medeconomics, Independent Practitioner Today, GP Online and Practice Business, amongst others.

Director and Principal Consultant for Ockham Healthcare.

Ben has worked in or with general practice for 20 years, and currently provides support both to individual PCNs, GP federations and to groups of PCNs seeking to work together within the changing NHS landscape. Ben hosts the popular General Practice podcast and co-authored the 2016 publication The Future of General Practice. Ben has worked in the NHS since 1995. Prior to setting up Ockham Healthcare in 2015 Ben was Chief Executive of NHS Nene CCG and before that led a GP federation with over 70 member practices in Northamptonshire.

Paul leads the Healthcare Team at Fidelius who are endorsed by the BMA to provide Independent Financial Advice to BMA Members. He maintains his NHS Pensions knowledge by regularly liaising with NHSBSA and also speaking around the country at conferences and online sessions. 

Rachel has been advising GP practices for over 15 years. She heads up the healthcare litigation team at VWV and routinely advises on partnership disputes, disputes with commissioners (including financial disputes and allegations of contractual breach), disputes with landlords (including disputes with CHP and NHS PS over service charges), judicial review, challenging the CQC, procurement challenges, fitness to practise/performers list action and general commercial litigation.

Rachel is part of a wider healthcare team at VWV which covers the whole range of services to primary care and includes experts on partnership agreements, mergers, property matters, employment issues, insolvency and tax.

Justin is a Chartered Surveyor, having qualified over 25 years ago and has spent most of his career at Pinders, taking on the role of Managing Director in 2007.

Prior to that, he held various positions and has undertaken Business Appraisals and Valuations on a wide range of going concerns for secured lending and other purposes, within the healthcare, licensed/leisure and retail sectors.

Justin still retains a ‘hands on’ involvement in these areas of the business and appears as an Expert Witness at Planning Tribunals and Court Cases, giving expert evidence in respect of valuation issues relating to trading concerns. He also undertakes rent review and other Landlord & Tenant related work. 

Rebecca is a Chartered Accountant, lecturer, and author specialising in tax. After training with a top‑20 firm, she worked as a chief accountant in industry before returning as a Training Manager to oversee graduate development and CPD. She later established her own practice alongside a tax training and writing business, delivering lectures across the UK to accountants, businesses, HMRC and Treasury staff. Rebecca has been involved in the MTD project since 2016, serves on the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board, and was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to the tax profession.

Mike, who is a Chartered Certified Accountant and Head of Dental at UNW LLP, has over 10 years of experience in working with dental professionals. Mike has overall responsibility for over 500 practice clients and is actively involved in advising clients in respect of accounts, practice purchases/sales and restructuring.

Alongside his dental accounting experience, Mike has a wealth of experience in NHS contracts, net pensionable earnings, tax affairs, exit strategies and retirement planning. He is also a member of NASDAL (National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers) and ASPD (Association of Specialist Providers to Dentistry) and regularly provides accounting and taxation updates to national specialist healthcare lenders.