Dr Ganesh Naidoo (OH 1995) is Co-Founder and CEO of Medmate — a company that helps people across Australia access healthcare when, and where, they need it.
When Ganesh Naidoo graduated from Haileybury in 1995, he left with the confidence and self-belief that, if he put his mind to it, he could achieve anything. It is the kind of mindset he believes will also be instilled in his son, Jack, who is in Year 9 at Haileybury.
“When I left Haileybury, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to study Science or Medicine, but in the back of my mind I had confidence that I had the skills to succeed in whatever field I chose,” says Ganesh.
He studied Biomedical Science, majoring in Immunology and Physiology at Monash University and then completed a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Queensland.
“For a while I did think about switching to IT. Dad had a senior role in IBM in Australia and while I was at university, I worked for IBM part-time. There was a point during my Biomedical Science degree when I filled out paperwork to transfer to Computer Science but something stopped me. Ultimately, I chose Medicine because it was a way to help people,” says Ganesh.
He became a doctor in a major public hospital and then a rural GP, moving from Victoria to north Queensland and opening his own medical centre in 2011. It was while working in Cairns that Ganesh realised the challenges many Australians in remote areas faced in accessing timely healthcare.
“People flew from as far as Cape York and Thursday Island to see a GP. It was challenging for them when they needed follow-up care or prescriptions and quick access to medication,” says Ganesh.
“Telehealth was around but there was no real infrastructure to support it and I thought it ironic that it was difficult to provide healthcare to people living remotely, but I could use my phone and Uber eats and get a pizza delivered in 20 minutes!”
Ganesh and fellow Old Haileyburian, Dilip Rao, have been friends from their earliest days at the school — their lockers were next to each other! Together they founded Medmate so people anywhere in Australia could be connected to a doctor within minutes via video or a phone call. Dilip is Medmate’s Chief Technology Officer.
“Medmate is all about providing interim care such as an electronic prescription, a referral letter, or a pathology form, and GPs can also provide a letter to a patient’s local doctor. We help thousands of patients every month and that’s very rewarding,” says Ganesh.
He maintains close ties with old friends from Haileybury and he is always on hand to support Jack as he competes on the same ovals where Ganesh once played sport. His daughter, Mary, will enrol at Haileybury in a few years’ time.
“You’ll always find me cheering from the sidelines most weekends,” he says.
“I love returning to Haileybury — it feels like it was only last week when I was a student there.”