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Mint
6 days ago
- Health
- Mint
Britain's AI-care revolution isn't flashy—but it is the future
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) is typically associated with Silicon Valley coders or researchers in Shanghai, not chain-smoking care workers in the Black Country. Yet in England's post-industrial heartland Samantha Westwood, a manager at Cera, a home-care company, arranges carers' schedules with Amazon-like efficiency. A custom-built app plots the quickest routes to see the most clients in the shortest time. Carers log their arrival by sharing their GPS location. Alerts ensure that medication is given on schedule. So good are the data that Cera can even predict which workers are likely to quit (staff turnover is said to be down by 20%). England may seem an unlikely pioneer in an AI-care revolution. Whereas Japan is deploying robots, a quarter of care providers in England still keep paper records. The country's care system is underfunded and overstretched. Yet necessity is spurring innovation, albeit not from cash-strapped local councils (over 40% of their spending on services already goes on adult social care). Young entrepreneurs are teaching carers to use tools more common to delivery services and dating apps. One of them is Ben Maruthappu, Cera's founder. He launched Cera after failing to find reliable care for his mother (an origin story typical of aspiring age-tech entrepreneurs). If groceries could be tracked in real time to the doorstep, he reasoned, then why not medication? Today Cera claims to have created Europe's largest home-care data set—over 200bn data points—to train AI that predicts patients' needs. A promising use of AI is to predict falls. Falls are among the gravest risks for the elderly: hip fractures are their most common cause of accidental death. They also cost the National Health Service (NHS), which is separate to social care, around £2bn ($2.7bn) a year. With its app, which uses algorithms to predict fall risk, Cera claims to have cut falls by a fifth. A peer-reviewed study from 2022 found that its app had reduced hospitalisations by 52%. In March the NHS said it would work with Cera to roll out its AI tool across the country. Fifty kilometres south of Ms Westwood's patch is The Lawns, a nursing home. There, another tech adopter, Melanie Dawson, a former rugby player turned care manager, has overseen an NHS pilot using acoustic-monitoring devices. White boxes combine motion sensors and machine learning to detect unusual movements or noises in the residents' rooms, a kind of Shazam for ambient noise. Over a year-long trial, falls decreased by 66%, and staff made 61% fewer checks in person. With fewer disturbances, residents also slept better and, with less daytime-napping, ate more. When the pilot finished, the home chose to keep using them at its own cost. At Cavendish Park, in Worcestershire, residents can play with robotic companion pets and try an interactive driving simulator. Most, though, stay in their rooms, chatting to smart speakers called Alexa (made by Amazon). Cavendish Park was the first home in Europe to build Alexas, adapted to care homes, into its infrastructure, integrating them with its alarm and communication systems. Residents can use them to ask for help, for a drink or to make an emergency call. AI's adopters say the tech is meant to support staff, not replace them. At Cavendish Park, carers scan residents' faces using PainChek, a mobile app, which detects micro-expressions linked to pain. Within seconds, they can detect pain more quickly and accurately than a trained nurse. Yet in other cases, AI appears to be filling gaps left by a shortage of carers. In Northamptonshire, Cera is testing robots to give routine prompts, like whether clients have eaten or taken their medication. Though fine for the most mundane tasks, they are no replacement for Ms Westwood's kind and competent team. At Cavendish Park, residents treat their chatbots as companions (one 99-year-old says she spends all her time playing 'Quick-fire Quiz"). Meryem Tom, who leads the Alexa division at Amazon, insists that the Alexas are 'complementary" to humans. One risk is that care workers could become tethered to digital metrics, a grim prospect for such a human job. Consent is another concern. Many of the clients whom AI might best help have dementia, raising doubts about whether they can meaningfully opt in. Some homes already feel like prisons: the dementia wing at Cavendish Park, Chatsworth House, is locked with keypads. AI could worsen that controlling urge. With enough surveillance, warns Andrew Sixsmith, a gerontology professor at Simon Fraser University, they risk resembling Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon, a theoretical prison where a single guard can watch every cell. Still, for those needing care, the benefits of safety and independence appear to outweigh the risks—at least for now. Brenda Adkin is a 101-year-old Cera client who recently suffered a fall. Still enjoying a sherry with her neighbour in the morning, she has no wish to go into a care home. 'I like my independence," she says. AI helps the carers she loves keep her at home. Solving the care crisis will take more of this kind of innovation, not less. For more expert analysis of the biggest stories in Britain, sign up to Blighty, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Use of AI software that predicts falls and illnesses to be scaled up nationwide
An artificial intelligence (AI) platform designed to reduce hospital admissions by predicting when an elderly person is likely to fall at home or become ill is set to be rolled out nationwide. It comes after pilots of the technology, developed by Cera, found it can predict falls with 97% accuracy. The software will also be used to detect the symptoms of winter illnesses like Covid-19, flu, RSV, and norovirus to allow care teams to intervene earlier. Officials said the software 'has the potential to be a real game-changer' for community care. Cera is a private company, but the majority of its business is providing social care on behalf of the NHS and local authorities. Its Fall Prevention AI platform takes information about patients logged by carers on a smartphone app and assesses their risk of having a fall. Based on the information, the visiting carer can then ensure the patient is hydrated, assistive devices are in place, and that paths to toilets and the kitchen are clear. They can also take further steps such as visiting more frequently or contacting a patient's family members. The software is being used across 29 of the UK's 42 integrated care systems with use set to be scaled up. Pilot schemes were carried out in July and September 2023, involving 800 and 2,254 patients respectively, with ongoing tests showing a 20% reduction in falls, according to Cera. It is hoped the further rollout will help prevent up to 250,000 falls a year, the equivalent of 675 day. Cera is also using AI to monitor patients' symptoms to help predict illnesses before they occur, which it hopes will lead to the prevention of 500,000 hospital admissions a year. Dr Ben Maruthappu, founder and chief executive of Cera, said: 'Many of us will have had a loved one experience a fall, a urine infection or the flu, and seen how, for an older person, those events can be life-changing, often leading to long-term health deteriorations. 'Our technology is saving lives by preventing these health emergencies from happening – reducing avoidable hospitalisations, freeing up beds in wards, and drastically easing pressures on the healthcare system.' Dr Vin Diwakar, national director of transformation at NHS England, said: '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 £2 billion, 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.' The Government's forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan has outlined three major shifts for the NHS, one of which is the greater adoption of technology. Dr Diwakar added: '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.' Dr Maruthappu said described home care technology as a 'game-changer' for the health service, claiming it 'has the power to save countless lives while also saving the taxpayer billions'. 'We're excited to partner with the NHS and local authorities to roll out our AI tools, transforming health outcomes for high-risk and vulnerable individuals and empowering people to live longer, healthier lives, in their own homes,' he added. Health minister Stephen Kinnock said: 'Around a third of adults over 65 will experience a fall each year, which can be devastating not just physically, but also for their confidence and independence. I am determined that we harness cutting-edge technology to help our most vulnerable citizens receive expert care at home. 'This is smart, preventative healthcare in action, and exactly the kind of transformation we're championing in our 10 Year Health Plan – shifting from treating sickness to preventing it, from hospital to community care, and from analogue to digital solutions.' Sign in to access your portfolio
The Independent
05-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Use of AI software that predicts falls and illnesses to be scaled up nationwide
An artificial intelligence (AI) platform designed to reduce hospital admissions by predicting when an elderly person is likely to fall at home or become ill is set to be rolled out nationwide. It comes after pilots of the technology, developed by Cera, found it can predict falls with 97% accuracy. The software will also be used to detect the symptoms of winter illnesses like Covid-19, flu, RSV, and norovirus to allow care teams to intervene earlier. Officials said the software 'has the potential to be a real game-changer' for community care. Cera is a private company, but the majority of its business is providing social care on behalf of the NHS and local authorities. Its Fall Prevention AI platform takes information about patients logged by carers on a smartphone app and assesses their risk of having a fall. Based on the information, the visiting carer can then ensure the patient is hydrated, assistive devices are in place, and that paths to toilets and the kitchen are clear. They can also take further steps such as visiting more frequently or contacting a patient's family members. The software is being used across 29 of the UK's 42 integrated care systems with use set to be scaled up. Pilot schemes were carried out in July and September 2023, involving 800 and 2,254 patients respectively, with ongoing tests showing a 20% reduction in falls, according to Cera. It is hoped the further rollout will help prevent up to 250,000 falls a year, the equivalent of 675 day. Cera is also using AI to monitor patients' symptoms to help predict illnesses before they occur, which it hopes will lead to the prevention of 500,000 hospital admissions a year. Dr Ben Maruthappu, founder and chief executive of Cera, said: 'Many of us will have had a loved one experience a fall, a urine infection or the flu, and seen how, for an older person, those events can be life-changing, often leading to long-term health deteriorations. 'Our technology is saving lives by preventing these health emergencies from happening – reducing avoidable hospitalisations, freeing up beds in wards, and drastically easing pressures on the healthcare system.' Dr Vin Diwakar, national director of transformation at NHS England, said: '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 £2 billion, 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.' The Government's forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan has outlined three major shifts for the NHS, one of which is the greater adoption of technology. Dr Diwakar added: '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.' Dr Maruthappu said described home care technology as a 'game-changer' for the health service, claiming it 'has the power to save countless lives while also saving the taxpayer billions'. 'We're excited to partner with the NHS and local authorities to roll out our AI tools, transforming health outcomes for high-risk and vulnerable individuals and empowering people to live longer, healthier lives, in their own homes,' he added. Health minister Stephen Kinnock said: 'Around a third of adults over 65 will experience a fall each year, which can be devastating not just physically, but also for their confidence and independence. I am determined that we harness cutting-edge technology to help our most vulnerable citizens receive expert care at home. 'This is smart, preventative healthcare in action, and exactly the kind of transformation we're championing in our 10 Year Health Plan – shifting from treating sickness to preventing it, from hospital to community care, and from analogue to digital solutions.'
