Cera to save NHS up to £125 million this winter

MONDAY 16 DECEMBER 2024, LONDON, UK: Healthtech company Cera is set to save the NHS £125 million this winter, delivering as many as 8 million preventative home healthcare visits and keeping thousands of elderly and vulnerable people out of hospital. 

Cera uses advanced AI algorithms to scan its home healthcare dataset, identifying patients at risk of hospitalisation and mobilising its almost 10,000 carers and nurses to take preventative action in the community, easing the pressure on the NHS.

Over the winter months, these algorithms will flag up patients who are at risk of falling—the most common cause of hospitalisations in elderly people—with 97% accuracy, leading to at least a 20% reduction in patient falls and a resulting reduction in A&E visits. 

Cera’s algorithms can also detect the symptoms of cold-related illnesses like flu, COVID, RSV or norovirus, enabling Cera’s carers and nurses to prevent health risks from escalating into a medical emergency. This helps saves lives and reduces hospitalisations of Cera’s patients by up to 70%.

Cera’s algorithms flag up as many as 5,000 high-risk alerts every day, powering a preventative home healthcare model which saves the NHS and Government £1 million a day, easing the strain on hospitals.

Dr Ben Maruthappu, Founder and CEO of Cera, said: “The NHS will face record pressures this winter, and as a provider of care to some of the UK’s most high-risk older and vulnerable people, we are doing everything we can to keep patients out of hospital and well at home. 

“Technology and AI can and should play an important role in preventing hospitalisations and saving lives, and we’re glad to be making a difference for patients, their families and overstretched healthcare workers over the busy winter months.”

Cera’s preventative AI tools include a Falls Prevention AI and a Hospitalisation Predict-Prevent tool, which forecast more than 80% of health risks before they happen. 

Dr Maruthappu said: “Winter is a high-risk time for our service users, so tools like our Falls Prevention AI and our Hospitalisation Predict-Prevent tool are more important than ever for keeping people safe and well at home.”

Cera also uses productivity-enhancing technology to enable its staff to spend more time with patients, delivering one-third more care visits a day by reducing carer admin time and travel time.

Rose Wilkinson