From left: Sonia Neary, Niall McEvoy and Ruth McEvoy. Image: Paul Sherwood
CEO and founder Sonia Neary said the investment will help the company expand its footprint across the UK, where several hospitals use its Portasana platform.
Dublin-based Wellola, which aims to allay hospital overcrowding with its healthcare platform, has raised €2.2m in a round led by Elkstone Partners to accelerate its market expansion across Europe and hire more staff in Ireland and the UK.
Founded in 2016 by Sonia Neary, a chartered physiotherapist by background, Wellola builds healthcare management solutions that address some of the major problems currently being faced in hospitals around Europe.
Hospitals across Ireland and the UK are overwhelmed because of record levels of overcrowding. The company has developed Portasana, a patient care and communication platform used by clinicians to reduce the need for return appointments.
Currently used by several NHS (National Health Service) hospitals in the UK, the platform features educational courses that give patients a better understanding of their condition and help them manage it better – making it less likely for them to return to the hospital.
Neary, who is the CEO of Wellola, said in an announcement today (28 March) that digital interventions such as Portasana can address health inequalities by being scalable, affordable and accessible.
“This investment will enable us to further enhance our Portasana patient care and communication platform and also expand our footprint across the UK, ultimately empowering healthcare professionals to deliver more efficient, effective and personalised care to their patients,” she said.
Led by Elkstone, one of Ireland’s leading early-stage venture funds, the round was also backed by Enterprise Ireland. It brings total funding raised by the start-up to €4m.
Barry Brennan, partner at Elkstone, said that Wellola is revolutionising how hospitals and clinics care for and communicate with their patients. “We are excited to support the team at Wellola as they continue to usher in a new era of healthcare in hospitals right across Ireland, the UK and Europe,” he said.
“Wellola’s technology brings benefits to both patients and healthcare systems and will play a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare sector,” added Ruth McAvoy of Enterprise Ireland.
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