64. Cera

Founders: Dr. Mahiben Maruthappu and Marek Sacha
Founded: November 2015
Website: www.joincera.com

Cera wants to address the challenges of social care in Britain. A mission which, on the face of it, seems overtly ambitious but not when you take into account that its co-founder is a doctor, former NHS advisor and creator of the NHS Innovation Accelerator with 100 research publications and 50 awards to his name.

This co-founder is 29 year-old Dr Mahiben Maruthappu and he, alongside co-founder Marek Sacha – an internet entrepreneur who created Rohlik.cz – has built digital homecare plaform Cera.

Providing high-quality care for those in need of support including, but not restricted to, those with Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, learning difficulties, cancer, and the elderly, Cera’s platform connects those in need of care and their families to their ideal carer.

Based on specific requirements such as specialisms, experience, training and interests, the platform – which runs background checks on all of its carers – then sends a curated shortlist of carers to choose from.

Entirely tech-integrated, the platform also allows for carers to enter a digital record after each home visit, supporting monitoring and evaluation, and these reports can be sent to authorised approved family members and health practicitioners in real-time.

CQC registered, London-based Cera has already formed partnerships with several NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and hospitals throughout the capital and plans to “deepen and develop” its current partnerships with NHS bodies over the coming year.

Highlighting research that shows over 500,000 older people are abused by carers every day while 40% of patients in care homes experience depressions, Maruthappu is passionate that Cera acts a tool to “support our loved ones in the way they deserve”.

With expansion outside of London and new tech developments on the cards, let’s hope Cera helps to change those statistics.