NHS and social care chiefs could save 1 billion GBP per year by the autumn of 2026 through the further adoption of a new AI-led model which is taking care for the elderly out of UK hospitals and residential care homes, and into patients’ own homes, a new analysis shows.
The home healthcare model, from healthtech company Cera, uses preventative technology to reduce the need for hospitalisations in older-age adults by at least 52% and up to 70%. The model is already preventing at least 233 emergency admissions a month by predicting falls, tracking symptoms and mobilising frontline nurses and carers to respond to high-risk alerts and treat common conditions like urinary tract infections from patients’ own homes according to the company.
The resulting reduction in A&E waiting times, hospital admissions and subsequent admissions to residential care homes is already saving the NHS and government 1 million GBP per day. These cost savings have been verified by Faculty, one of the UK’s leading technology firms, which has worked with the NHS for more than a decade. These savings are estimated to increase to 2 million GBP per day by the summer of 2025, and upwards to 3 million GBP per day by autumn 2026, equivalent to 1 billion GBP annualised savings.
By reducing unnecessary hospitalisations, Cera’s home healthcare model helps the NHS free up more than 1,210 hospital bed days each month, Faculty’s analysis showed, with each bed costing on average 460 GBP per day.
Cera also reduces delayed hospital discharges for patients and improves patient flow through hospitals, as well as reducing the need for rehabilitative stays in residential care homes – delivering cost efficiencies and operational efficiencies for government-funded social care.
Cera’s home healthcare model is already in use across 150 of the UK’s 382 local authorities, and is rapidly being adopted across NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), with contracts already in place across 29 of the UK’s 42 NHS ICBs.
Cera says that NHS chiefs have acknowledged the problem of rising A&E waiting times, which they said was caused by rising demand as they strive to find alternative ways of treating people that avoid the need for hospitalisation. This rise in demand is partly due to our rapidly ageing population and falling birthrate: by 2075, more than half the G7 population will be aged 65 and over. Over-65s account for 40% of all UK hospital admissions and occupy around two-thirds of hospital inpatient beds.
Nearly 80% of Cera’s patients are aged 65 and over, meaning the company is well-placed to work together with the NHS and social care providers to find new alternative ways of treating and caring for our ageing population. Cera was launched in 2016 by Ben Maruthappu, a former frontline doctor and innovation advisor to the NHS, who also co-founded the NHS’ Innovation Accelerator, bringing new technology into the healthcare system to drive progress and save lives.
Ben Maruthappu, Founder and CEO of Cera, said: “I launched Cera in 2016 with an ambition to revolutionise healthcare, using technology to transform services and patient outcomes, while alleviating NHS and government pressures. This report confirms the substantial impact we are making, with Cera already saving the NHS and government £1 million a day, increasing to £1 billion a year in 2026. This only reinforces the important role technology has in transforming our health and care system, at a time when the need to change couldn’t be greater.”
Hugh Neylan, Head of Health at Faculty, which created the analysis for the NHS, said: “As our population ages and pressure on in-patient services increases, taking care out of hospitals and residential settings and into patients’ homes is fundamental to the future of our health and social care system. It’s exciting to see cost savings already being delivered by AI, and this will only grow as their adoption increases.”
