AI-backed social care model has saved over £1 billion for NHS & Government, analysis shows

TUESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2025, LONDON, UK: An innovative AI-backed model of social care has saved the NHS and Government more than £1 billion to date by preventing avoidable hospital admissions in high-risk older and vulnerable people, and reducing costly referrals into residential care, a new analysis shows.

Cera, the UK’s largest HealthTech, has pioneered the use of AI in home care to transform health outcomes in older and vulnerable people – cutting hospitalisations, preventing A&E attendances and ambulance call-outs, and empowering older people to continue living independently in their own homes for longer, reducing demand for admissions into Government-funded residential care. 

In doing so, it saves the NHS and Government more than £1.5 million daily at a critical time for public spending, the analysis shows, with borrowing costs recently reaching a 27-year high – while also easing NHS pressures at a time when the health service is stretched to breaking point.

Cera’s 10,000 carers and nurses deliver 2.5 million home healthcare visits a month to high-risk older and vulnerable people nationwide – a volume greater than all visits to NHS A&E departments across England. At each visit, they deliver hands-on care, while also logging patient symptoms and observations digitally. Cera has developed smart AI tools, including a Falls Prevention AI and a Hospitalisation Predict-Prevent tool, which draw on this data to predict and prevent health risks in its patients, alerting frontline staff and mobilising them to take preventative steps in the community, such as seeking antibiotics from a pharmacist, or escalating care to a GP. This prevents health deteriorations, helping to reduce pressures on hospitals and emergency services, as well as lowering demand for Government-funded residential care.

Cera’s prevention-led model of care has been shown to deliver over £46.5 million in Government and NHS savings per month – exceeding £1.5 million in daily savings, according to the analysis verified by Faculty, one of Europe’s leading AI and data science companies.

In 2023 and 2024, Cera contributed £1 million in daily public savings, rising to £1.5 million in 2025 – with total cumulative savings to date now exceeding £1 billion.

Dr Ben Maruthappu, Founder & CEO of Cera, said: "These figures show social care’s potential to act as the frontline of prevention for high-risk over-65s – easing NHS pressures at a time when the health service is stretched to breaking point. Critically, they also show the power of technology and AI to save money, increase productivity and help transform public services – delivering better care, for less, at a time when every pound of Government spending is under pressure. 

“£1 billion in savings could fund the salaries of more than 25,000 nurses for a year, pay for 40 million more GP appointments, or build a number of hospitals. The further rollout of AI-backed home care, in a safe way, focused on prevention, could save many more billions, making a tangible difference for the public purse.”

Faculty works with public sector clients including the NHS, NPCC, Ministry of Defence, Department of Science, Innovation & Technology and Network Rail to equip them with AI strategy, knowledge and expertise – including designing, building and implementing high-performing AI products. Faculty has worked with Cera for a number of years to analyse, strengthen and advise on its AI and technology tools.

Hugh Neylan, Head of Health at Faculty, said: “These savings show the role AI and digitally-powered prevention can play in improving public finances, easing NHS pressures, and giving older and vulnerable people greater independence. Cera’s innovative AI and technology tools, strengthened by Faculty, have enabled  Cera to halve hospitalisations through smart predictive analytics and simple, low-cost interventions. This type of care delivers considerable savings compared to traditional residential and home care models, offering a blueprint for a more sustainable future for healthcare.”

Cera’s rollout of this transformative model comes at a time when the UK’s public finances are under growing pressure, with borrowing costs and debt rising, compounded by slow productivity and growth, and rising demand for public services. 

Meanwhile, the NHS is facing the greatest challenges in its 76-year history, with the ‘corridor care emergency’ in British hospitals recently declared a year-round crisis, no longer contained to winter. Over-65s account for a large proportion of the overcrowding in British hospitals, making up two-thirds of hospital bed occupancy and placing added pressure on hospitals and emergency services. Data from Age UK shows approximately 1 million hospital admissions of over-65s in England each year could be avoided with better preventative home care in place. 

Download below the press release