Healthtech startup secures £3m to "solve the NHS staffing crisis"

A healthtech startup which is aiming to solve the NHS staffing crisis has closed a multi-million pound funding round.

Patchwork has secured £3m in an investment round led by Praetura Ventures, with participation from BMJ and some existing angel investors.

Founded by NHS doctors Anas Nader and Jing Ouyang in 2016, Patchwork aims to support hospitals to fill vacant shifts and offer flexible working to clinicians.

The startup, which has offices in London as well as Manchester and Liverpool, plans to use the funds to foster partnerships with more NHS Trusts across England and Wales, as well as invest in the development of its proprietary software to support future expansion into the GP and private medical sector.

Anas Nader, co-founder of Patchwork, commented: “We’re so proud of how widely our technology has already been embraced across the NHS and the impact we’re having on the lives of thousands of clinicians.

“We are therefore delighted to welcome Praetura Ventures as an investment partner. Their philosophy of providing not only financial support but strategic expertise is exactly what we were looking for. Their experience in the healthtech sector, alongside the continued support from BMJ, our partner, will also be crucial as we scale.

“We’re looking forward to partnering with them as we continue to save the NHS money and create a better work-life balance for healthcare workers at a critical time for our health service.”

Mark Lyons, director at Praetura Ventures, added: “The staffing issues facing the NHS are never far from the headlines and there is a significant amount of political and social pressure to reduce costs and maintain quality of patient care.

“There’s no doubt that this is not an easy task, but Anas and Jing have established a business that is proven to help.”