Advanced has acquired Dublin-based CareWorks, a provider of Cloud based case management software for health and social care organisations, used by over 50,000 care professionals and clinicians and more than three million citizens. The acquisition will boost Advanced’s drive to deliver integrated health and care solutions and support the goals set out in the NHS Long Term Plan to build integrated care systems by 2021.
CareWorks is a fast-growing business with 60 employees and operates in the UK, Ireland and US, complementing Advanced’s presence in these locations. It has established relationships with government and public sector organisations in health and social care, which also adds to Advanced’s existing work with local authorities and the NHS.
The organisation will integrate directly into Advanced’s health and care division, led by its managing director, Ric Thompson, who joined from Docman when the market-leading Cloud software provider was acquired by Advanced in July 2018.
CareWorks is the first acquisition announced since Advanced received an investment from Funds advised by BC Partners, with Vista Equity Partners continuing as an investor. The investment, which closed last month, supports Advanced’s ambitious growth aspirations to become the number one provider of business software solutions in the UK, while expanding its global footprint.
“It’s exciting to be delivering on our plans so quickly,” comments Gordon Wilson, CEO of Advanced. “CareWorks is an excellent example of an innovative Cloud-based software provider that will enhance our offering to social care customers. We have a strong track record in health and care and given the sector’s rapid changes we recognised that we had to adapt and transform quickly to meet their needs. The social care sector in particular is increasingly becoming a focus for government as our population ages and we witness a rise in mental health conditions. This acquisition will propel our ability to deliver interoperable software solutions supporting the move to integrated care systems.”
Michael Dolan, CEO of CareWorks, says: “Being part of the Advanced family will help to spearhead the delivery of a fully integrated end-to-end health and care platform, with CareWorks an integral component. We jointly recognise the transformative benefits that bringing together health and social care will deliver – as leading software providers to that market we are ready to support the integrated plans. We quickly saw the potential that bringing together our solutions into a single system could provide and see it as an incredible opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives.”
CareWorks solutions comprise a single shared information system for community nurses, mental health, social workers and therapists to record the care they provide whilst allowing other venues of care to access these essential electronic care records. Outside of the UK, CareWorks is already a case management platform for child welfare agencies, with an established customer base in the USA for example.
As the third largest provider of business software and services in the UK, Advanced has a strong presence in the public sector, health and care markets, specifically in local authorities, out of hours, urgent and unplanned care, primary care, secondary care, community and mental health. Its solutions include document management software, referral management software and patient management software.