What The Sound Doctor does

The Sound Doctor is a UK-based digital health education company, founded in 2011 by former BBC journalists Dominic Arkwright and Rosie Runciman, that produces clinically led, bite-sized film libraries, structured education courses, animations, podcasts, and bespoke content covering long-term conditions such as diabetes, COPD, heart failure, dementia, back pain, mental health, cardiac rehabilitation, and hypertension. The core technology is a content distribution platform where films are accessed by patients via simple links shared by GP practices, NHS trusts, integrated care systems, or employers — deliberately without requiring individual user logins — and selected content is produced in multiple languages (e.g., Cardiac Rehab in English, Urdu, Arabic, Polish, Spanish, and Portuguese). The product suite is anchored by co-developed condition libraries with elite NHS institutions, including a 50-film heart failure library produced with Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College Hospital Trusts, and a 40-film dementia library with the Newcastle Institute for Ageing, with over 20 condition-specific libraries in total.

The company monetises primarily through subscription-based licensing of its film libraries, structured education courses, and staff training films to NHS trusts, integrated care systems, and public health bodies in England and Wales, supplemented by bespoke content creation and podcast production billed as professional services engagements. Go-to-market is sales-led, with demos and contact-form lead generation on the website, supported by NHS-trust referrals, clinical endorsements (notably Dr Charles Alessi, former Senior Advisor Public Health England), and independently evaluated outcome data showing 93% of patients reporting fewer GP visits, 98% feeling more confident self-managing, 95% improved understanding, and a documented 344% ROI in the North East North Cumbria case study. Named customers span at least 10 NHS organisations (NENC, NWL ICS, County Durham & Darlington, King's College Hospital, GIG CYMRU Wales, South West London, Kent & Medway, Chesterfield Royal, BOB, Guy's & St Thomas') plus public-sector bodies (Walsall Council, Cornwall Council) and enterprise buyers (Go Ahead London), with Professor James Kingsland OBE serving as Medical Director.

The Sound Doctor Ltd is a privately held, founder-owned company registered in England and Wales, headquartered in rural Gloucestershire, with a small team (11-50 employees) and no disclosed external funding, revenue, or acquisition activity. Operations remain concentrated in the UK public-sector healthcare market, with recent expansion signals pointing to employer wellbeing segments, multilingual content, and adjacent workforce training product lines rather than geographic or technological diversification.

Name

The Sound Doctor

Legal name

The Sound Doctor Ltd

Website

https://thesounddoctor.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Sound Doctor is a UK digital health education company producing clinically led, bite-sized films, structured courses, podcasts, and animations on long-term conditions, licensed via subscription to NHS trusts, integrated care systems, public health bodies, and employers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Health Education Content

NAICS

Sound Recording Studios (51224), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Audio Learning Content (Podcasts, Audiobooks, Listening Programs) (EDAGALAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Exclusive/Original Audio Content Studios (Audio Originals, Serialized Audio) (MPAJAIAF), Medical & Clinical Reference (Physicians, Nursing, Allied Health) (EDAGAGAA), Enterprise Audio Publishing & Private Podcast Platforms (MPAIADAI)

Keywords

• Patient education content
• Health education films
• Chronic disease management
• Digital health content
• Structured patient education

Headquarters

HQ city

Poulton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Film Library Licensing: Organisations license access to The Sound Doctor's film libraries for patient education. Content is accessed via links without individual patient logins.
2. Structured Education Courses: Interactive film-based structured education courses licensed to healthcare organisations for patient self-management education.
3. Staff Training Films: Bite-sized clinical training films on topics including informed consent, duty of candour, and end of life care for NHS teams.
4. Bespoke Content Creation: Custom film, course, and campaign creation tailored to specific client needs, topics, audiences, and settings.
5. Podcast Production: Bespoke podcast series production for organisations requiring custom audio health education content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Sound Doctor licenses clinically led, bite-sized film libraries, structured education courses, animations, podcasts, and bespoke content to healthcare organisations (primarily the NHS), public health bodies, and employers for patient and staff education. Content is distributed digitally via shared links without requiring individual user logins, and is designed to improve patient self-management of long-term conditions and reduce demand on healthcare services.

Product overview

The Sound Doctor is a film-based health education platform offering a comprehensive suite of content products. The core offerings consist of Film Libraries (expertly produced bite-sized films on conditions like COPD, Diabetes, Heart Failure, and Dementia), Structured Education (interactive film-based courses), Animations (short explainer films), Podcasts (mental health and wellbeing series), Bespoke Content (custom film campaigns), and Staff Training Films (NHS clinical training). These products work together as an integrated health education ecosystem where film libraries form the foundation for structured courses, animations supplement patient education, and bespoke content extends the platform for organizational needs. All content is clinically led, designed to change patient behavior, and proven to improve health outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Film Libraries
• Structured Education Interactive, film-based structured education courses covering conditions such as COPD, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac rehab, and weight management. Licensed to healthcare organisations to deliver evidence-based patient education via shared links, with no login required and available in multiple languages for courses including cardiac rehab.
• Animations Short, animated explainer films covering lifestyle changes, smoking cessation, weight management, hypertension, and cardiac rehabilitation. Designed to be shareable and accessible across digital platforms including social media and public screens.
• Podcasts Story-led podcast series supporting mental health and wellbeing, including 'Keeping on Track' for the farming community and 'The Mindful Apprentice' for young workers, with bespoke podcast production also available for organisations.
• Bespoke Content Custom film-based content created to address specific organisational goals, health campaigns, or community needs. Examples include mental health content for Cornwall Council / NHS Kernow and fatigue training for London bus drivers with Go Ahead London.
• Staff Training Films Bite-sized, clinically led training films for NHS teams covering topics such as informed consent, duty of candour, and end of life care. Designed to fit into busy clinical schedules and support staff training and compliance.
• Diabetes Film Library Sixty films helping people understand and manage diabetes through better lifestyle choices and medication understanding, covering diet, activity, blood glucose monitoring, and complications prevention.
• COPD Film Library Over sixty films focused on preventing exacerbations, improving inhaler techniques, and reducing hospital admissions for COPD patients.
• Heart Failure Film Library Fifty films produced in collaboration with Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College Hospital Trusts, providing comprehensive information on living well with heart failure.
• Dementia Film Library Forty films produced with Newcastle Institute for Ageing, helping people with dementia live independently longer and supporting carers and care staff.
• Mental Health Film Library Thirty-six films covering stress, anxiety, mental health in the workplace, trauma-informed care, and practical wellbeing techniques.
• Cardiac Rehab Film Library Thirty-one films covering cardiac rehabilitation including physical activity, relaxation techniques, healthy eating, and medication, available in English, Urdu, Arabic, Polish, Spanish, and Portuguese.
• Working Age Wellbeing Film Library Fifty-one films covering workplace health topics including mental health, stress, diet, exercise, sleep, and workplace relationships.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of patients reported fewer GP visits
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Guy's and St Thomas' NHS TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development of the heart failure film library with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, providing comprehensive patient education on heart failure management.
• King's College Hospital TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with King's College Hospital Trust on heart failure content development alongside Guy's and St Thomas' Trust.
• Newcastle Institute for AgeingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction of a comprehensive 40-film dementia library developed in collaboration with Newcastle Institute for Ageing to help people with dementia live independently longer.
• Adam HensonminorOthersAdam Henson, TV farmer and presenter, collaborated on the 'Keeping on Track' podcast series addressing mental health in the farming community.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• My mhealth: My mhealth delivers NHS-approved digital therapeutic apps for COPD, asthma, diabetes and heart failure, combining education with self-management tools. Comparable UK-anchored chronic-condition digital education and self-management platform.

Direct peers

• EIDO Healthcare: EIDO supplies evidence-based patient information and procedure-specific consent content (including animations and digital pre-op education) to NHS trusts, insurers and private hospitals. Direct UK NHS peer for clinically-led patient education content delivered digitally.
• Cognitant: Cognitant produces visual and video-based health information for patients and clinicians, including 3D animations and immersive health content commissioned by NHS trusts and pharma. Closely comparable in mission, NHS-facing GTM, and film/animation-led patient education.

Emerging players

• MyTherapy: MyTherapy combines medication adherence, patient education content and chronic-condition self-management in a mobile app used by NHS patients. Comparable patient-facing chronic-condition education layer with health system integration.
• Concentric Health: Concentric Health provides digital consent and shared decision-making content (including video) adopted across NHS trusts. Comparable in NHS-facing, clinically-led patient education technology with surgical/medical use cases.
• Oviva: Oviva provides digitally-delivered nutrition, weight-management and diabetes prevention/treatment programmes reimbursed by NHS England and several European health systems. Comparable in chronic-condition self-management education with strong NHS traction.
• Changing Health: Changing Health delivers digital education and behaviour-change programmes for type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes, including NHS-commissioned pathways. Overlaps with The Sound Doctor's structured patient education for long-term conditions.
• Liva Healthcare: Liva delivers digital behaviour-change programmes for type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular conditions via coaching and asynchronous content, including NHS-commissioned services. Comparable chronic-disease self-management focus, partially overlapping NHS footprint.
• HealthUnlocked: HealthUnlocked powers patient self-management communities and curated health content for NHS and condition-specific organisations. Comparable as a digital chronic-condition self-management platform with NHS distribution, though community-led rather than film-led.

Broad incumbents

• Patient.info (EMIS Group): Patient.info is one of the UK's most-visited patient health information platforms, providing condition articles, decision aids and self-management content within the EMIS Group ecosystem. Broader incumbent in online patient education with overlapping long-term condition coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sounddoctorUK
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheSoundDoctor1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-sound-doctor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Sound Doctor