Nationwide rollout of predictive tool developed by Cera that is 97% accurate in patients’ risk of falling
The NHS is hoping to prevent up to 2,000 falls and hospital admissions each day through the implementation an AI tool. The system is in use across more than two-thirds of NHS integrated care systems across the country as part of the provision of care at home. It is employed in 2m home care visits per month.
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The software, developed by health tech specialists Cera and trialled in 2023, monitors a patient’s vital health data to predict deterioration in advance. Staff, carers and family members record updates on an app which then continues to monitor and react in real time to data including blood pressure, heart rate and temperature.
Where it predicts a deterioration in health signs, the system alerts hospital staff, helping them to be proactive, dealing with issues before they require hospitalisation. The aim is to reduce hospitalisations – and attendant pressure on the wider NHS – by 70%.
This is important because falls are the largest cause of emergency hospital admissions for older people. Some 30% of all those aged 65+ – accounting for some 2.5m people – experience a fall at least one a year. That figure rises to some 50% for those aged 80+.
Such falls, and the injuries they incur such as fractures, account for more than 4m ‘bed days’ in hospital per year, with an estimated cost of £2bn.
Of course, there is also the benefit to patients themselves. For example, 82 year-old Christine, from Essex, suffered a fall that left her with a broken femur and subsequent shock fracture. Since that happened, she’s been using the Cera AI system.
Christine says: ‘There is no question that Cera’s preventative approach has helped me avoid injuries and falls ever since. They have kept me out of hospital, flagging up potential risks and helping me to avoid them. After I broke my leg, they also enabled me to return home from hospital much faster than I otherwise would have done.’
As well as predicting (and preventing) falls, the Cera AI software can also be used to detect symptoms of a range of illnesses such as Covid, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus. Again, this enables NHS and care teams to intervene before the need for hospitalisation – and could make a huge difference to periods of high demand such as during winter.
What’s more, the software can automate visit schedules and the creation of care plans as well as other administrative tasks, freeing up staff to devote more time to care.
Dr Vin Diwakar, National Director of Transformation at NHS England, says: ‘This new tool now being used across the country shows how the NHS is harnessing the latest technology, including AI, to not only improve the care patients receive but also to boost efficiency across the NHS by cutting unnecessary admissions and freeing up beds ahead of next winter, helping hospitals to mitigate typical seasonal pressures.
‘We know falls are the leading cause of hospital admissions in older people, causing untold suffering, affecting millions each year and costing the NHS around £2bn, so this new software has the potential to be a real game-changer in the way we can predict, prevent and treat people in the community. This AI tool is a perfect example of how the NHS can use the latest tech to keep more patients safe at home and out of hospital, two cornerstones of the upcoming 10-year Health Plan that will see shifts from analogue to digital, and from hospital to community care.’
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