An online therapy platform for children and young people with mental health and neurodiverse conditions has raised £7 million.
Healios says the funding will be used to expand its life-changing platform and improve access to much-needed therapy programmes for families across the country.
The Series A round was led by InHealth Ventures with participation from existing investors AlbionVC.
Currently, one in eight 5-19–year–olds in the UK have a mental health disorder but two-thirds are unable to access NHS care because of soaring demands and long waiting lists. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified demand even further.
Since launching in 2013, Healios has transformed how children and young people access therapy services in the UK. The company has undertaken extensive digital transformation work with over 65% of NHS Mental Health Trusts to provide clinician-led, expert care to children and young people living with conditions such as anxiety, low mood, autism and ADHD, as well as support to their families.
Healios’ virtual care platform delivers tailored digital interventions including specialist clinical assessments, therapy sessions and bespoke support programmes through its employed network of clinicians, integrated tools, self-management apps and a telemedicine platform.
So far, more than 70,000 specialised clinical sessions have been delivered through Healios.
It takes a family-centric approach to assessment, therapy and treatment plans, with an online, family-focused therapy programme for young people with psychosis and schizophrenia.
Healios says it will invest in new assessment and treatment programmes, enabling it to make even more services available to the NHS and health organisations.
The London company will also expand its AI, machine learning and data science expertise, adding to a team whose headcount has already grown by 116% since early 2020. In addition, Healios will be accelerating plans to expand internationally later this year.
InHealth Ventures and InHealth Group Chair, Richard Bradford, will be joining the Healios board, alongside Cat McDonald of AlbionVC.
Rich Andrews, Founder and CEO of Healios, said: “The UK is facing a mental health crisis. Demand far outstrips supply and technology has a vital role to play in closing that gap.
“We’re immensely proud of the lives we’ve already changed through Healios. This funding will help us reach more families in need and enable us to develop further sector-leading interventions and therapies.
“By bringing together clinical experts and giving them the tools to reach their patients regardless of where they are, we are closing the access gap which has plagued mental health provision for far too long.
“We’re delighted to bring such esteemed investors onto the team as we deepen our clinical provision and expand our global reach. Both InHealth Ventures and existing investors AlbionVC bring with them highly specialised knowledge when it comes to navigating health systems and scaling innovative healthcare technologies.”
Dr Ben Evans, Managing Director of InHealth Ventures, said: “Healios is a standard bearer for healthcare innovation. They bring together clinical excellence with digital expertise, working in partnership with the NHS to address a critical, but complex area of care delivery.
“Healios’ work to date speaks for itself; their holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment has had a substantive impact on clinical outcomes and patient experience.
“We’re thrilled to have led this round and are excited to partner with the Healios team as they continue their pioneering and hugely important work.”
Cat McDonald, Investor at AlbionVC, said: “COVID has engendered a pace of innovation previously unseen in healthcare. In particular, we have seen that remote care not only works, but often works much better than traditional alternatives.
“The option to receive care remotely, at home and in a family-centric setting is the strong preference of most kids suffering from poor mental health, which is why we are delighted to continue supporting the incredible Healios team as they continue on their mission of bringing accessible care to the next generation.”
Mental health