Silver Linings elderly care competition: In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity for change

The Silver Linings elderly care competition is an opportunity to rethink how we value our older generations and their care and find sustainable routes to invest via collaborative ideas that deliver for all.

Ben Maruthappu created Cera after his mum, Leena – herself a doctor focused on geriatric care – had a terrible fall four-and-a-half years ago at 68 years old, leaving her with a fractured back. Cera has since evolved into a successful care solution for older generations.

When Leena came home from hospital, her independent lifestyle was greatly impacted. All manner of tasks – moving around her home, gardening, her medical work, spending time with her grandchildren – became difficult. The everyday things we take for granted were suddenly no longer straightforward.

Her son Ben, an Accident & Emergency doctor in London at the time, said: “Following her accident, mum found everyday tasks suddenly very difficult. She had trouble with any work or activities around the house, and even just walking itself. Mum is normally so active and independent, so she found this period particularly frustrating.”

Ben and his sister began to look for care for their mother, but ended up providing a lot of it themselves because they just couldn’t find the joined up care they felt they could trust.

Reflecting on that difficult time Ben, now aged 33, said: “I could see that so many passionate, motivated and resilient people were working in care. I was speaking to the different agencies and providers but I could see they were so busy and overwhelmed. It wasn’t really clear though when a carer could start, what services they would provide, what time they would be leaving and who would actually be coming into mum’s home. There just wasn’t the connectivity or transparency I was hoping for.”

The Brainwave

“When I went to visit some homecare providers, I could see white boards, pens and paper being used to communicate, but that doesn’t give the real time picture or make for a joined up system. I could see that if we digitised the organisational side more through technology it would be easier for everyone involved. Whether that was for us as a family wanting to organise and access care for mum, or for care workers visiting an older person and being able to leave messages for the family or the next care worker coming in.

“I could see the potential to transform care with technology that truly connects people and that’s what led to the brainwave for my business, using technology from the ground up to create a company that puts optimised care at your fingertips.”

Aged just 28 when he launched Cera in 2016, Ben was sad to stop practicing in the UK’s National Health Service, but recognised the impact and scale of change he could potentially make.

Cera has also digitised the recruitment of carers through to how clients and carers are matched based on languages spoken, time needed and geography.

Cera’s technology means it can be proactive, not just reactive, with its care.

“We collate as much information as we can during our visits about how that older person is doing and we analyse it,” added Ben. “It means we can be on the front foot and see if a person is at high risk of being unwell before they become so. We can get ahead of that, organise more care if needed, recommend tasks to a carer or speak to their GP.”

Through digitisation, Cera is freeing up carers to do what they do best: care.

The Silver Linings Competition: your chance to make an impact on the sector

Cera’s story is one of rapid success. The company has raised more than £100m of investment to date via a mixture of equity and debt, investment that has fuelled expansion, investment in technology and the ability to make an impact for older people, their families and for carers.

Aged 72, Ben’s mum is now fully recovered, and back working in clinics as a geriatrician based in London. She had really missed her gardening, long walks and especially spending time with her grandchildren. Now she is able to do all of these things again and appreciates them more than ever.

“If Cera had existed at the time mum had her fall, everything would have been so much smoother and less stressful,” said Ben. “We would have been able to organise care at the tips of our fingers, with that real-time connectivity that would have given us all peace of mind.”

Ben welcomes the opportunity the Silver Linings competition is creating, adding: “The more people that can bring a fresh pair of eyes to the sector to think differently about designing services, the better. This will help us to go above and beyond to create a more sustainable model for the future. That’s amazing and I’m behind any initiative and competitions that support and drive just that.”

The Silver Linings Competition

The Silver Linings competition is open to submissions from the general public for ‘Business Plans’ – investable ideas that can be taken forward by interested parties. The competition is encouraging people to come forward with ideas and the best solutions will win cash prizes: £10,000 for the best business plan and £5,000 for two runner up business plans.

 

Find out more, and enter the competition at: https://www.silverliningscompetition.com/, join the LinkedIn page for updates, or follow us on Twitter at @Ideas4Silvers.

 

Jonny Funnell is an Institutional Investment Associate at Triple Point, one of the sponsors of the Silver Linings competition