MediShout, the app for frontline hospital staff to resolve facilities and equipment issues, has closed a £1 million seed round, led by Episode 1 Ventures.
By not having working equipment in the right place, at the right time, procedures are delayed, frontline staff are depleted, and patients can suffer. The Journal of Nursing Times reported that a third of nurses wasted two hours per shift just looking for missing kit or stock.
Born of frustrating personal experience, MediShout was founded by an NHS surgeon, Ash Kalraiya.
He said: “As a surgeon, I have all too often been delayed by items like lightbulbs in the theatre being broken, faulty equipment or not having the right stock when I need it. We founded MediShout to stop such frustrating issues from getting in the way of patient care. Our ultimate vision is to use AI and digital technologies to transform our hospitals into smart-buildings that run smoothly.”
The MediShout app is a “one-stop shop” being used in NHS hospitals to connect staff, equipment suppliers and service maintenance teams. Frontline staff are now able to report and resolve operational issues directly and easily using the app. By using data and AI, Medishout predicts and prioritises issues in the hospital’s facilities and equipment to ensure that patients can receive the best possible care.
The app is already being used by six hospitals and several equipment suppliers, and with this new round of funding, the team plans to expand to over 20 hospitals in 18 months.
Independent research conducted by health economists, suggests that using MediShout could save NHS hospitals £1 million every year.
MediShout has already helped improve PPE allocation during the peak of COVID-19.
During COVID-19, frontline staff are more reliant than ever on functioning equipment, logistics and infrastructure to treat patients. They need ventilators, stock for blood tests, PPE and functioning kit to perform surgeries.
Medishout’s chief product officer, Ali Nehme Bahsoun, is also a doctor-turned-entrepreneur who previously led product at Digital Surgery, which was also backed by Episode 1 Ventures and was acquired by Medtronic earlier this year.
Carina Namih, partner at Episode 1 Ventures said: “Hospital facilities have been left behind by digital innovation for too long. As doctors and product designers, this team really understands how technology and AI can help frontline hospital staff be more effective. We are hugely excited by the positive impact that MediShout will have.”
