LocumTap

LocumTap Ltd, now operating as Patchwork Health, was established in 2016 by two National Health Service (NHS) doctors, Dr. Anas Nader and Dr. Jing Ouyang. Their firsthand experience with the inefficiencies of temporary staffing in healthcare motivated them to create a technology-based solution. The company was founded to address the NHS's significant expenditure on agency locums and the associated administrative burdens.

The firm operates in the healthcare technology sector, specifically focusing on workforce management for healthcare organizations like hospitals and NHS trusts. It provides a digital marketplace that directly connects healthcare employers with a bank of temporary clinicians, aiming to streamline the booking of locum shifts. This model is designed to reduce reliance on third-party recruitment agencies, thereby cutting costs and improving staffing level management and patient safety. The company generates revenue through a dual model, involving transaction fees for each shift booked via the platform and a subscription-based model for healthcare organizations to access the full suite of management tools.

In October 2018, the company rebranded from LocumTap to Patchwork Health to better reflect its mission of connecting all parts of the healthcare staffing ecosystem and to avoid the misconception that it was a locum agency. A significant milestone was achieved in November 2018 when Patchwork secured a strategic investment from BMJ, a healthcare knowledge provider, and an earlier investment led by Harvard Business School Alumni Angels, bringing its total funding to £2 million at the time. The platform includes a suite of products such as the 'Patchwork Bank' portal for administrators, a 'Bank App' for temporary staff to book shifts, a 'Rota Portal' and 'Rota App' for managing schedules, and an 'Agency Manager' portal. These tools provide a comprehensive solution for managing temporary staffing, from posting available shifts to handling payments. Reports indicate that the use of the platform has led to a significant increase in the utilization of bank staff, from 35% to 90% in some cases, and has helped save the NHS millions.

Keywords: healthcare staffing, workforce management, locum management, NHS, health tech, temporary staffing, digital marketplace, shift booking, rota management, clinician bank, healthcare administration, medical recruitment software, patient safety, healthcare costs, subscription model, transaction fees, Patchwork Health, Anas Nader, Jing Ouyang, hospital logistics