Today leading home healthcare provider Cera announces the successful delivery of 7.5 million care visits over the winter period, 50% more than initially pledged in October 2023.
Recent statistics reveal that approximately 7.60 million procedures and appointments were waiting to be carried out on the NHS in England by the end of December 2023, amounting to an estimated 6.37 million people waiting for care. Likewise, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted that he had not met his promise to cut NHS waiting lists, despite it being one of five priorities set out in January 2023.
As part of its commitment to reducing pressures on the NHS by speeding up the discharge of patients from hospital to home, Cera’s delivery of 7.5 million home care visits – 2.5 million more than planned – is estimated to have saved the NHS almost £100 million over the winter period.
The success of this winter care delivery pledge has been underpinned by Cera’s AI-powered care model, where patient symptoms and health data are used to predict deterioration of patient condition 30x quicker than typical methods. This has enabled Cera to deliver more effective care in the home and subsequently reduce hospitalisation rates by up to 70%, alleviating further burden on already-overstretched NHS services.
Likewise, Cera’s recently-announced AI-led care scheduling platform has also enabled the delivery of 30% more care visits in parts of England. A greater number of visits has been achieved by reducing a carer’s average travel time between patients by 50%, meaning that more patients can receive high-quality care without placing additional pressures on carers.
As Europe’s largest provider of digital-first home healthcare, Cera is equivalent in capacity to almost 100 NHS hospitals. Since the company’s initial launch in 2016, it has delivered tens of millions of home visits, demonstrating its commitment to tackling NHS discharge delays and long waiting lists through digital-first home healthcare.
Dr Ben Maruthappu MBE, Founder & CEO of Cera, comments: “Cera’s achievement this winter not only demonstrates the transformative role AI is playing in the delivery of healthcare services, but also highlights the growing importance of moving healthcare from hospital settings and into the home.
By developing innovative solutions to tackle widespread health and social care issues, we can continue to alleviate pressures on a stretched NHS and improve patient outcomes by enhancing what can be delivered in home-based settings. Providing greater amounts of advanced care within the home continues to be one of the UK’s greatest healthcare priorities, and we are proud that our work is making such a vital impact during a critical time for the NHS.”