The health service has revealed rollout of an automated system that is designed to monitor vital signs and alert care staff of any concerns, with the aim of preventing hospitalisations

The NHS is deploying across the health service artificial intelligence technology which it claims “can predict a patient’s risk of falling with 97% accuracy”.

The predictive system, created by care specialist Cera, works by “monitoring vital health signs to predict worrying signs of deterioration in advance”.  This includes assessments of temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate.

The technology, which is already used during more than two million homecare visits each month, will then alert care staff of any concerns. About 150,000 such alerts are issued each month.

In the past 18 months or so, about two-thirds of integrated care systems have deployed the tool, and the plan is to continue this rollout across the rest of the health service. Next winter, the tool will be equipped with additional functionality and “will also be used to detect the symptoms of winter illnesses”, including Covid-19, influenza, and other respiratory infections, according to the NHS.

Related content

• NHS plans £180m framework for AI diagnostics and predictive analytics
• ‘Revolutionised NHS App’ at heart of plan to cut waiting lists
• Extra 800,000 people to be prioritised for vaccine after use of ‘predictive risk’ technology

The health service added that the “software can also automate paperwork like visit schedules and creating care plans, giving staff more time to focus on caring for patients”.

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 £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.”