07 Nov 2024
ICON has advised L2P Enterprise Ltd, the UK’s foremost provider of medical appraisal software on its acquisition by Patchwork Health, one of the country’s leading providers of tech-driven workforce management solutions for healthcare.
This strategic acquisition will result in a market-leading healthcare platform; a comprehensive end-to-end suite of tools designed to address the workforce needs of over 100,000 clinicians across more than 200 NHS and private healthcare organisations.
L2P, established in 2009 by consultant anaesthetist Dr Patrick Doyle and led by Jim McLaughlin (CEO) and Colin Wilkinson (Managing Director), is the UK’s leading appraisal system for doctors in secondary care and the fastest growing job planning tool for medical staff, Allied Health Practitioners (AHPs) and nurses. Over 75 NHS Trusts use L2P’s software. L2P is also the market leader in the private healthcare sector with over 55 organisations relying on their credentialing and appraisal solutions.
Founded in 2016 by NHS doctors Dr. Anas Nader (CEO) and Dr. Jing Ouyang (COO), Patchwork Health currently partners with over 60 NHS organisations to offer software solutions that enable digital rostering, flexible staff banks, and agency management. The company also provides data and analytics tools to support smarter staffing decisions.
The Patchwork Health tools have supported more than 55,000 healthcare workers and saved the NHS over £120 million to date. In the past two years alone, more than 12 million shift hours were filled using their solutions. In some NHS Trusts, Patchwork Health's staffing solutions have achieved shift fill rates of 97%, significantly reducing dependence on third-party agencies.
This combined offering will streamline workforce processes; unlocking critical data, reducing silos, cutting costs, and enhancing productivity. By integrating the L2P job planning with Patchwork Health rostering, healthcare organisations will be able to deploy their teams more strategically and cost-effectively whilst supporting high-quality patient care that aligns with clinical service plans and budgets.
Both teams will benefit from shared expertise, engineering collaboration and a wealth of market insights which will enhance products, see them develop new services, and enable expansion into new markets.
Jim McLaughlin, CEO of L2P, said:
“David at ICON was a critical member of our team for months offering advice, ideas and pragmatic suggestions with positivity and good humour. He built excellent working relationships with both our side and that of our acquirer. He was always accessible, immensely capable and extraordinarily diligent. The whole team were impressed by his knowledge, working style and output. Highly recommended with zero hesitation.”
Dr Patrick Doyle, Founder and Chairman of L2P, adds:
“After founding and scaling L2P into one of the market’s leading appraisal and job planning solutions, this partnership with Patchwork Health is an ideal next chapter. By joining the Patchwork Health family of products, our ambitions for the impact of L2P can continue to grow.”
Dr Anas Nader, CEO & co-founder of Patchwork Health, comments:
“As soon as we met the team at L2P, we knew it was an ideal fit. Both L2P and Patchwork Health are led by people who have firsthand experience of the challenges we’re tackling and a passion for making lasting improvements in healthcare. L2P shares our customer-first culture and our relentless pursuit of innovative solutions to support our healthcare colleagues. Together, our complementary suite of software solutions will deliver smarter staffing across the sector. This acquisition sets the stage for a new phase of growth, and we are eager to support even more clinicians and healthcare organisations together.”
Dr Jing Ouyang, COO & co-founder of Patchwork Health, adds:
“Over the last 8 years, we’ve been relentlessly focused on making healthcare work better. To meet another company who shares this vision and drive is rare. We feel very fortunate to have met the team at L2P and to be welcoming them into Patchwork Health for the phase of our collective journey.”
David Bell, Director at ICON, says:
"We are thrilled to have played a key role in advising on this strategic acquisition, which brings together L2P’s industry-leading medical appraisal software and Patchwork Health’s innovative workforce management solutions. This partnership has the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery in the UK, empowering both healthcare professionals and organisations with the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly complex environment. We look forward to seeing how this collaboration will drive positive change across the sector."
All existing L2P and Patchwork Health customers will see services continue as normal following this acquisition, as the companies commence their collaboration.