City Funds has invested £550K in Bristol-born start-up, SAH Diagnostics Ltd, which provides new, technologically advanced, mobile cancer diagnostic units for the NHS – beginning in Bristol, with UK ambition.
For patients who have been referred for a diagnostic test, particularly for suspected cancer, the wait can be overwhelming and impactful on their lives.
SAH Diagnostics provide a new approach to supporting the NHS with rapid access to diagnostic screening to tackle the backlog of patients on waiting lists, exacerbated by covid.
With current NHS equipment reaching its end of life, the mobile CT Unit units, with state-of-the-art imaging equipment, are set to support many communities in the South West. The mobile Urology Unit (the first of its kind in the world) delivers various diagnostics services ranging from prostate biopsies to bladder checking cystoscopies. The mobile units have state-of-the-art imaging equipment and are cheaper and faster for the NHS than building new wards or wings and can be re-deployed easily.
City Funds invested £550K so SAH could start the project and place a deposit on the first unit.
The Sharia-compliant investment was a ‘first of kind’ transaction, as this is the first time Islamic Finance has been used to acquire a mobile CT unit in the UK.
“The City Funds team was wonderful to work with. They understood our requirements for Islamic Financing. They also understood the importance of our project and the great benefit that it would bring to Bristol and the wider UK.”
Feroz Agad, Managing Director of SAH Diagnostics
SAH are also addressing potential health inequalities many may face in lower income areas, where capital funding from the NHS is scarce.
Having already scanned thousands of patients in the South West, SAH is making a significant difference by driving down patient waiting times and enabling access to high quality medical care.
Deal overview
Business name: SAH Diagnostics
Website: www.sahglobal.com
Impact theme: Health & Wellbeing
Amount of investment: £550,000