“Pioneering” healthcare workforce platform raises £20m to tackle NHS staffing crisis

Patchwork Health, a “pioneering” healthcare workforce platform built by NHS doctors, has raised a £20m Series B round to accelerate its work tackling the NHS staffing crisis.

The round was led by Perwyn and backed by Praetura Ventures and KHP Ventures. They were joined by a range of prominent angel investors, including Monzo founder Tom Blomfield and Social Chain Co-founder Dominic McGregor.

Founded in 2016 by NHS medics Dr Anas Nader and Dr Jing Ouyang, London based Patchwork partners with over 100 healthcare sites across the UK. Its technology and services aim to “transform healthcare staffing”.

This timely investment comes as nearly half of NHS staff have reported feeling unwell as a result of work related stress in the last 12 months and one in five have said they are likely to leave their organisation in the next year. This staffing crunch is occurring against the backdrop of record waiting lists, with 6.6m people waiting to start treatment.

Patchwork, which in March 2022 was named Staffing Solution of the Year by the HSJ, works to reverse these trends. It provides tech-powered solutions that address staffing challenges and allow NHS teams to manage their permanent and temporary workforce through one fully-integrated platform.

This includes powering tech-enabled ‘staff banks’ for temporary workers; the vital clinicians who step in when a shift can’t be filled by a permanent member of staff.

Patchwork also helps NHS Trusts and Health Boards team up with others in their region to create ‘collaborative staff banks’; making it possible for them to pool their networks of temporary staff and allow clinicians to safely move between hospitals easily and work where they are needed most.

Co-founder and CEO, Dr Anas Nader, commented: “NHS staffing isn’t working for NHS staff; but it can be fixed with the right tools. At Patchwork, we work closely with NHS organisations to design technology-powered solutions that allow all staff to have their needs, preferences, and wellbeing put front and centre of workforce strategies.

“Our solution gives the NHS the power to make this sustainable staffing a reality, whilst improving staffing levels and safeguarding the quality of patient care. We’re so grateful to Perwyn and all the investors involved in this round for enabling us to scale up this mission and help even more healthcare professionals work in a sustainable way.”