The Telegraph
Meet the 30 year-old whizzkid reinventing NHS social care
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Ben Maruthappu
CEO & Co-Founder
Our story
Our story began with Ben Maruthappu, at the time a practicing physician working in A&E and Public Health medicine. Treating patients, who were often older, each day, Ben was struck by the volume of avoidable or unnecessary hospitalisations, and the impact this was having both on the NHS and on the lives of patients.
Whilst working as a Doctor, Ben also found himself organising care for a member of his own family, after an unfortunate accident. Having experienced this process first-hand, he recognised the immense pressure that providers and Professional Carers were under, as well as the difficulties facing older people and their loved ones.
Recognising the transformative role that technology could play in improving the delivery, planning and outcome of healthcare at home, Ben worked with Cera’s other co-founders to launch the company in November 2016.
About Ben
As a London-based entrepreneur, in less than eight years Ben has grown Cera from zero to over £300 million revenues, now delivering over 60,000 care visits a day, making it one of Europe's fastest-growing businesses.
He formerly advised the CEO of NHS England on technology, co-founding the NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) which has benefitted over three million people. Ben has a strong interest in research with over 100 peer-reviewed publications and 75 awards. He also serves on the Board of North West London NHS Integrated Care System, covering a population of 2.4 million. Ben is a Senior Advisor to Bain & Company, and has advised a range of organisations, from startups to multilaterals, including the Swiss government, the Telegraph and the WHO. He is Chairman of the UK Medical Students’ Association (UKMSA), and has authored three medical books.
Ben was educated at Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard universities. He was listed in WIRED’s 10 Innovators in Healthcare, being named Disruptive Leader of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2020 Ben was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to Health & Care technology.
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