Sarah Buisson is a multilingual analyst with a financial services background. She has participated in the development of profitable financial and economic strategies focusing on non-clinical aspects of health and social care markets in the UK and mainland Europe.

Philip has been an economist with Laing and Buisson for eight years. He writes numerous Laing and Buisson market reports on health and care sectors (including Health & Care Cover, Children's Nurseries, UK Dental Care, Flexible Staffing Services, and Laing's Healthcare Market Review). Philip previously spent time as an economist at the Office of National Statistics writing the ONS's monthly economic commentary. He also has a number of academic papers published on the economics of gambling.

William Laing is an economist, and the driving force behind Laing & Buisson. After graduating from the London School of Economics (BSc Econ) he began his career in 1967 as an Economist with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. He subsequently moved to the ABPI sponsored Office of Health Economics where he was appointed Deputy Director in 1971. In 1976 he left to set up Laing & Buisson.

William is viewed by many as the leading commentator on private health and community care in this country. His comments on industry events are regularly sought by the media and he is frequently invited to speak at conferences and to participate in ‘think tank’ committees. As editor of Laing’s Healthcare Market Review, he leads the team responsible for the collation of market data and trends on each segment of the independent healthcare sector: Acute hospitals, Medical insurance, Psychiatric & mental health services, Primary care and Care of elderly people. Based on extensive market knowledge and contacts, he frequently undertakes due diligence exercises on behalf of investors across the range of healthcare services.

William has a particular interest in the funding and delivery of long term care services and was commissioned by Age Concern England in 1994 to write ‘Financing Long Term Care: the crucial debate’, which first proposed the separation of LTC costs into the “care” (payable out of taxation) and “hotel” costs (where state support would be means tested). The concept was subsequently adopted by both the Joseph Rowntree Committee of Inquiry and the Royal Commission on Long Term Care. During 1995 and 1996 William served on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation enquiry on the funding of long term care and he has also been called to give evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee of Health.

Publications include Keeping a Lid on Medical Insurance Costs (1988) for the Institute of Economic Affairs, Empowering the Elderly: direct consumer funding of care services, published by the IEA Health and Welfare Unit in 1991, UK Private Specialists’ Fees – is the price right? in 1992, Financing Long Term Care, published by Age Concern in 1994, and A Fair Price for Care? Disparities between market rates and state funding of residential care, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 1998.

More recently, William was the author of Calculating a Fair Price for Care: a toolkit for residential and nursing care costs, first published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2002 and fully updated and revised in 2004 and 2008 with new data from care home providers. The toolkit provides care commissioners and care home groups and associations with a model for determining reasonable fee levels based on local market parameters. The model has subsequently been widely used in local fee negotiations throughout Britain. It is freely available on the web through the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Philip Mickelborough has been an associate of Laing & Buisson for over 13 years, operating through his own company Kingsbury Hill Fox Ltd.

In 1996 Philip researched and edited the first market report on homecare in the UK, and completed the ninth edition Domiciliary Care UK Market Report 2008 in September. He similarly initiated Laing & Buisson’s annual market report on housing-with-care, the eighth edition of which, Extra-care Housing UK Market Report 2008, was published in February 2008. He also researched and edited Laing & Buisson’s UK Pathology Markets 2002 following his first edition in 1995.

Philip selects the topics, speakers and chairs for Laing & Buisson’s annual homecare, telecare and assistive technology and extra-care housing conferences, and for various one-off conferences on particular health or social care topics.

The bulk of Philip’s work is undertaking consultancy assignments in health and social care mostly for Laing & Buisson’s clients. These include private and voluntary sector providers, social services and NHS bodies, and financial institutions investing in health and social care.

Before striking out on his own Philip held senior management and marketing positions within the medical equipment and health services industries with companies including BUPA, BOC and Unilabs/JS Pathology.

Adrian is an associate of Laing and Buisson through his consulting company Independent Care.

Adrian has extensive consulting experience in the NHS and in the UK and international private healthcare sectors often working with private equity and other funders to evaluate investment opportunities. Adrian has held a broad range of senior executive positions principally within the private acute hospital primary and corporate healthcare sectors. He has also advised on and managed a diversity of initiatives to enhance shareholder value including management buy ins, acquisitions, mergers and listing of shares.

Sandra Lawes is an independent consultant who has worked with Laing & Buisson and its clients for the past six years. Her main work with Laing & Buisson is consultancy assignments for public, voluntary and private sector health and care clients. These include market research, customer satisfaction measurement, marketing, communications, market and demand analysis and customer care.

Sandra previously held senior marketing and general management roles with blue chip organisations including Fisons, Smith & Nephew and Thomas Cook. For the past seventeen years she has specialized in the health and care sectors, holding director level positions in McCarthy & Stone, General Healthcare Group, BUPA Hospitals and BUPA Care Homes.

David is now working with Laing and Buisson, as a senior consultant associate. Most recently he has written two reports for the Department of Health and Laing and Buisson, on the economic challenges in the learning disabilities sector, covering 'Illustrative Cost Models' and Cost and Cost-Effectiveness Issues'.

David is a former learning disability services provider, having established and successfully operated high quality specialist residential care homes, for young adults with significant needs and autism, epilepsy, mental health and challenging behaviour, as well as physical disabilities. He was also a director and advisor with the Surrey Care Association, and has since operated as an independent advisor in the social care and health care sectors over the last three years, through his own business, Better Care Outcomes Ltd.

Support to providers has included strategic business planning, marketing, profitability improvement, and assisting under-performing older peoples homes, specialist homes and home care businesses to improve quality and re-gain good quality CQC ratings. In relation to financial issues, David has assessed the financial viability of new investments and continuing operations, developed costing models and assisted in pricing of services and fee negotiations, for new supported living operations and continuing care NHS bids, for older peoples nursing homes.

He has also supported learning disabiliy providers in exploring the feasibility of deregistration and in improving financial management effectiveness and operational efficiency. Recently he has advised on the introduction of a new excellence standard and developed a methodology to assess the business payback from investment in quality excellence.

David is an experienced management consultant and chartered accountant. He was formerly a consultancy partner in the banking and financial services sector, with Price Waterhouse, and has led their financial management consulting practice across Europe, as well as marketing, customer management and quality improvement services in London. Wide ranging projects have included customer service, efficiency and effectiveness improvement, cost reduction, performance management and managing strategic change implementation.