Wellola, the digital health company, has announced the successful closure of a €2.2m funding round led by Elkstone with additional funding from Enterprise Ireland and Bay Advisory. The investment brings Wellola’s total funding to date to €4m and will accelerate market expansion to meet demand.
Founded in 2016 by Sonia Neary, chartered physiotherapist and CEO,, Wellola builds patient management solutions to deliver care in a rapidly changing environment. Built by clinicians, big healthcare organisations including Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the North East London Foundation Trust and Birmingham Community NHS Trust have already deployed Wellola’s Portasana® platform.
Reduce need for return appointments by 30%
Portasana® has enabled one NHS Trust department alone to reduce the need for return appointments by 30%, saving it about £325,000 a year. In a representative evaluation of more than 600 patients across the UK using education courses featured on the platform:
- 95% Have a better understanding of their conditions;
- 91% Feel more confident about managing their condition;
- 88% Feel more confident about what to do if their condition gets worse;
- 59% Have been to hospital less frequently.
“At Wellola, we are transforming healthcare delivery for both patients and health professionals through fully interoperable innovation. Digital interventions like ours 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," said Sonia Neary, CEO at Wellola.
Wellola's expansion comes at a time of growing demand for digital health solutions, driven by the need for more accessible and patient-centric care delivery models. Hospital overcrowding, increased waiting times, and an over-extended infrastructure continues to plague healthcare systems across Europe.
Last year, Ireland reached a record high for hospital overcrowding while two in three doctors in the UK suffered moral distress. Wellola aims to change this by providing even more hospitals and community-based clinics with the digital communication tools needed to deliver healthcare outside of a hospital setting.
Barry Brennan, ppartner at Elkstone, said: “Wellola is revolutionising how hospitals and clinics care for and communicate with their patients. As Ireland’s largest early-stage venture fund, we are always on the lookout for innovative Irish founders making an impact both at home and abroad. 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.”
Ruth McAvoy of Enterprise Ireland said: “Wellola has developed an international reputation for innovation and service delivery and Enterprise Ireland is proud to back this funding round which will see Sonia Neary and the Wellola team continue to expand in the UK and Europe. Wellola’s technology brings benefits to both patients and healthcare systems and will play a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare sector.”