The app helping to train doctors and social care workers

UCL startup Oslr transforms bedside teaching for medical students. Now the technology is being repurposed to train social care workers to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The NHS spends over £1 billion on training doctors. Learning to examine patients is a cornerstone of medical study. However, hospital bedside teaching is in decline, partly due to doctors’ busy schedules.

As a student, Dr Tom Simpson was frustrated when trying to receive bedside teaching. He then had difficulty organising it as a teaching doctor. So, together with Dr Adam Pennycuick (a Clinical Training Fellow at UCL), he founded Oslr. The app connects students and doctors to coordinate teaching sessions. The name pays homage to Sir William Osler, celebrated for taking the study of medicine out of the classroom and to the bedside. 

We’ve welcomed Oslr at the Hatchery, UCL’s business incubator, where the startup benefitted from the support of UCL Innovation & Enterprise. Oslr has also received backing from Innovate UK, the British Medical Journal, Health Education England, King’s College London and Jisc.

The business has pivoted to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Additional funding from Innovate UK is enabling the teaching of a new patient care audience. Staff in care homes and social care workers will receive remote training in the latest coronavirus protection measures.  

Further reading
UCL startup plans to transform hospital teaching with major grant