DHL Accelerator SME Patchwork raises £3m

DigitalHealth.London SME Patchwork has raised £3 million in funding to accelerate their growth and foster partnerships with more NHS Trusts.

Patchwork, founded by NHS doctors Anas Nader and Jing Ouyang in 2016, connects trust to a growing number of flexible bank workers, and grows existing staff banks. This helps NHS trusts to save money by reducing their reliance on expensive recruitment agencies.

2019 saw many successes for the company, including forming 10 new healthcare organisation partnerships across the UK and releasing Patchwork Insights, a tool which allows organisations to unlock the power of their staffing data. They won two awards at the HSJ Partnership Awards with their partners Chelsea & Westminster Hospital Foundation Trust, as well as two North Excellence in Supply Awards with partner Aintree University Hospital.

Now, a £3 million deal with Praetura Ventures will enable Patchwork to grow more quickly and partner with further NHS Trusts across England and Wales. This deal will also allow Patchwork to invest in developing its software to roll out to different staff groups within the NHS, as well as expansion into the GP and private medical sector.

Patchwork also recently announced that they have partnered with Wagestream to create a new feature for clinicians using the platform which will allow them to track their earned wages. The hope is that this will encourage more clinicians to book shifts through their hospital banks.

DigitalHealth.London Accelerator Programme Director Sara Nelson said, “Raising such a large amount of money will enable the team to move to the next level in supporting NHS Trusts across the country. 

“Patchwork as a company are focused on understanding the problems and working collaboratively with Trust partners. I commend their way of working to support NHS staff with this move to becoming a digitally enabled workforce.”