Dr Johann Grundlingh’s revolutionary medical reporting system has had enormous impact on victims of serious crime, on the NHS and on police forces across the country. His company SFR Medical Ltd (Streamlined Forensic Reporting), co-founded with his wife Dr Lucy Grundlingh, was based on his extensive experience as a consultant in A&E and intensive care. It produces 4,000 reports a month for 70% of the police forces in the UK, including The Met, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester Police. In these reports, standardised medical evidence is created quickly and seamlessly, and SFR’s technology enables the 3D graphical reconstruction of wounds which can be used in court. Victims no longer have to wait six months for medical records to be processed, with current turnaround times averaging five days. Police forces have reduced hours spent obtaining medical evidence, saving £50m p.a. across the country. The NHS benefits from time saved, translating into cost savings to date (for medical professionals alone) of £7.7m.
No other company in the UK provides the same service as SFR Medical. When Johann and Lucy started out, they were constantly told that it could not be done and that it would never succeed. Innovating in a combination of police and NHS spaces seemed impossible, riddled with red tape. Yet their influence on the criminal justice world has been unique and solved a problem no-one believed was possible.