Hospital admissions of vulnerable patients drops by 80% in pilot AI scheme

A pilot scheme that uses predictive artificial intelligence to care for vulnerable people has reduced hospital appointments by 80%.

The MySense trial, run by South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) and technology partner SCC, between May 2020 and April 2021, provided a group of vulnerable people with wearable technology and passive sensors to provide 24-hour a day monitoring in their homes. This recorded thousands of pieces of data in each person’s home, enabling MySense to learn about each patient’s daily habits and create a profile of what was normal for that individual.

When the software detected an anomaly (for example, someone not getting up at their usual time, or not putting the kettle on), it alerted families, carers or health organisations. These were then able to check on the vulnerable person, which meant that if there was a problem, the person could be helped immediately.

Patients stay at home for longer

As well as the substantial drop in hospital appointments, the pilot saw a reduction in GP appointments of 58%, while 999 calls were cut by 53% and visits from community care teams by 43%. If rolled out more widely, the technology could mean that patients are able to stay in their own homes for longer, with appropriate support. That in turn frees up hospital beds and reduces admissions to A&E.

The project was developed in a new digital hub at Stratford Hospital, created jointly by SCC and SWFT. Clinicians work alongside software developers in the hub to design, build, test and implement digital solutions to health and social care challenges. The aim of the hub is to speed up deployment of digital care solutions into the NHS and integrated care teams. Other projects being explored at the hub include the use of AI to automate the management of eye care in low-risk patients, enabling high-risk patients to be identified earlier.

Elaine Martin, a dementia clinical practitioner at SWFT, said: “Using the data collected through MySense, we are no longer carrying out unnecessary visits, and when we do check in, we know what to focus on.” She added: “It’s another set of eyes for us. Our carers feel more supported and use the data to ensure the right care and support is being offered at the right time.”