By Saskia Koopman
Copyright cityam
Cera, the UK’s largest HealthTech home care provider, has announced that its AI-backed social care model has saved the NHS and government over £1bn to date, according to a new analysis.
The preventative care model leverages AI to reduce avoidable hospital admissions, cut emergency attendances and ambulance call-outs, and prevent costly referrals into residential care.
Data science company Faculty’s analysis has shown that Cera now saves more than £1.5m daily, contributing significantly to easing pressures on the NHS, which has faced record levels of bed occupancy and year-round corridor care crises.
Cera’s 10,000 carers and nurses deliver around 2.5m home healthcare visits per month.
Each visit logs patient observations digitally, feeding AI tools such as the falls prevention AI and hospitalisation predict-prevent tool.
These tools flag high-risk patients, allowing early interventions in the community – such as GP escalations or pharmacy support – before conditions deteriorate.
Impact on NHS and public services
Dr Ben Maruthappu, Cera’s founder and chief executive, 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”.
He noted that this could prevent “as many as one million of these hospitalisations each year.”
“Investing more in AI-driven care can also help to accelerate hospital discharges – freeing up beds by arranging faster, safer care at home, where patient recovery can be carefully monitored and reported back to the local authority,” he added.
Hugh Neylan, head of health at the Faculty, stated: “Cera’s predictive analytics and low-cost interventions halve hospitalisations, giving older and vulnerable people greater independence while delivering substantial savings for the public purse”.
The model comes at a time of wider public sector pressures. According to data from July, it is estimated that around 6.25m people are waiting for treatment in England.
With over-65s occupying two-thirds of hospital beds, and the NHS facing long waiting lists, preventative home care could help relieve some of the system’s most urgent bottlenecks.
Cera’s success is also part of a wider UK healthtech trend, where startups are harnessing AI and digital tools to improve care delivery and public sector efficiency.
Recent initiatives, such as NHS England’s roll-out of cloud-based GP record systems, illustrate the potential for scaling digital innovation across the health system.
