A SCOTTISH company that develops industry-leading technology to tackle the UK’s care crisis has announced a senior appointment as it targets expansion in 2019.

Care Sourcer, which has headquarters in Edinburgh, has hired former Skyscanner senior director Ilana Munckton as director of growth with the firm planning to add further to its 38 Scottish staff.

Munckton oversaw a period of high growth at the global online travel site, which was acquired by China’s Ctrip for £1.4 billion in 2016.

Care Sourcer technology aids older people in care via its comparison and matching website. Co-founded by Andrew McGinley and Andrew Parfery in 2016, the firm has contracts in place with a number of NHS Trusts and secured an £8.5 million investment round led by Legal & General and ADV in 2018.

McGinley said: “We are building a world-class team at Care Sourcer and are excited to get someone as talented and with so much scale-up experience as Ilana joining us. We’re planning to reach 100 employees by 2020 and are looking for more start-up and scale-up experts to join our talented team – from Scotland and beyond.

“This isn’t just a key year for Care Sourcer – it’s also expected to be a transformative year for social care with the release of a social care green paper that will help to steer how care is funded in this country in the future.

“Our care-matching technology is proven to make a significant impact on the challenges in social care, and we anticipate increasing attention and investment in what is such a critical societal issue.”

The UK care market is worth an estimated £20bn but is facing unprecedented challenges with daily NHS discharge costs exceeding £2m per day. A recent Age UK study reported more than 50,000 people have died while waiting for a care package since 2017.

Munckton added: “Care Sourcer is one of the most highly-rated technology companies in the UK, has an amazing team and is building incredible tech that is already helping the lives of thousands of people.

“I’m looking forward to helping the team make its next steps in a market where we can make real and lasting change for so many people.”