DigitalHealth.London Spotlight: Mobilise

Every week, we shine a spotlight on one of our DigitalHealth.London companies, founders, or NHS fellows. Today we are excited to feature our current DigitalHealth.London Accelerator company Mobilise.

What is the challenge you are addressing and why is it important?

There are over 10.5 million unpaid carers in the UK looking after a family member or friend. Without early-stage preventative support, carers can quickly reach burnout, often with devastating consequences for their families.

What is the solution you have developed and how can it help with the problem?

Mobilise is a digital support service for unpaid carers. We use online tools to create a community of carers sharing the practical wisdom and emotional support that makes a difference in a caring role.

Using sophisticated digital marketing techniques we can proactively reach out to carers early in their journey. 80% of carers on the Mobilise platform have never previously accessed any support for their caring role.

By reaching carers early and providing accessible support in a way that works for them, we can boost resilience and dependence – helping local authorities meet their statutory duties and equipping carers to thrive.

What is the history of your company?

Mobilise was formed through the Covid-19 pandemic when co-founders James Townsend and Suzanne Bourne saw a need for carers to share practical advice through the acute challenges of caring for somebody through lockdown.

As the informal community started to grow, Mobilise was commissioned by Shropshire Council and the London Borough of Camden to provide support to carers in their borough. Since then, Mobilise has worked in over 50 settings across the UK and grown the community to over 80,000 carers.

What successes have you had so far from successful pilots/trials/contracts?

Initial pilots have seen Mobilise reach significant numbers of carers with accessible support, including 26,000 carers in Camden. 80% of the carers reaching the platform have never previously accessed support for their caring role, and 79% are seeing progress in building their resilience within just a few weeks.

What are your future goals? What does success look like?

Our goal is to radically transform what’s possible in terms of supporting carers. Currently, only 10% – 15% of carers in the UK are accessing support, and we would like to see that figure grow to 85% – 90%.

By building Mobilise’s community, we want to leverage the fantastic wisdom, knowledge and expertise held by so many experienced carers, so that together we can care and thrive.

How has your time on the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator helped you in achieving these?

It’s been great to connect with so many other companies doing exciting things in the world of health and care, learning more about the specific challenges experienced by commissioners and how our platform can support them to drive transformation in their boroughs.

Do you have any advice for aspiring digital health companies?

No matter how exciting the potential of your technology is, the most important question is: How will this help solve a problem for my user?

It’s easy to get excited by a theoretical opportunity, but if it doesn’t address a pain point for a real person it’s not going to go anywhere.

I’d also say that ‘keeping going’ is really key. That matters in terms of cash flow management of course, but also emotional energy! There are so many hurdles to overcome, but taking them one at a time and keeping going is the key to making big strides.

Any asks for the audience?

If you know anybody who has experience of caring for somebody and might be able to contribute to our community of wisdom, please send them to us at www.mobilise.co.uk.

Mobilise is currently in Cohort 7 of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme is funded by the UK Government via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It is delivered by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London in partnership with the Office of Life Sciences, CW+, Medicity, NHS England, the Mayor of London and the Levelling Up Fund.

For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-
shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus.