Staffscanner, the Glasgow-based tech company and staff provider, is aiming to triple in size following a grant award of almost £1 million from Scottish Enterprise.

The firm has developed a platform and recruitment solution for care homes and NHS Trusts, and will use the £960,000 grant towards a £5 million project to develop its technology and add 80 new jobs — taking its team from 40 to 120 employees.

Staffscanner provides a tool for both care providers and care workers to use, where employees can control their work pattern and book shifts, and employers can quickly assess skills and book staff.

As it stands, over 40,000 healthcare professionals and more than 1,000 care services are on the Staffscanner platform. The company has plans for 2024 that include expansion within the Scottish and English care home market, and continued support to UK local authorities and the NHS.

Commenting on Staffscanner and the funding it’s received, Scottish Enterprise managing director of business growth, Rhona Allison, said: “The healthtech solution Staffscanner provides to the dual challenges of an ageing population and fluctuating health and social care recruitment is truly innovative.

“Scottish Enterprise’s new focus on driving economic transformation will enable businesses, like Staffscanner, to deliver high value jobs, boost their levels of innovation, productivity and global growth opportunities to create wealth for Scotland’s economy.”

Staffscanner’s co-founder Reza Najafian was inspired to start the business because of his mother Alice, who was a nurse, as well as from his own experience working in a care home over many years.

Najafian also owns Silverburn Care Home in Glasgow, and created Staffscanner in 2017 having experienced the first-hand challenges of recruiting valuable staff in health care.

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Najafian said: “Our digital platform is revolutionising the care sector as it helps solve traditional challenges that care providers have experienced as well as improving transparency and efficiency to ultimately provide more time for what’s important — the provision of high-quality care for vulnerable people.

“We have exciting plans this year as we look to grow in key markets across the public and private sector in the UK as well as internationally with a service that we feel puts the care back into care management.

“A key factor in our growth has been the ability to access support from Scottish Enterprise as we further develop our business and aim to enter new markets in healthcare.”