The UK needs an AI taskforce to improve innovation in health and social care to avoid being left behind, the founder of digital-first social care provider Cera has warned.
Ben Maruthappu, founder of Cera, an AI-driven social care app, has said that the government must place priority on creating an AI taskforce that includes leading tech pioneers and health and social care experts in order to “drive much-needed reform across the sectors”.
Founded in 2016, Cera now cares for over 2m patients a month – an average of nearly 60,000 appointments a day – with an aim to save the NHS an estimated £1bn a year by 2026.
“Health and social care have been slow to digitalise – a technology which came about 20-odd years ago – and this has already cost us dearly across areas including workforce efficiency and retention, the prevention and treatment of avoidable conditions, health research and far beyond,” Maruthappu said.
“If we are equally slow in embracing AI, health and social care will well and truly be left in the dark ages; and our social care system in particular will be overwhelmed by a rapidly ageing population,” he added.
Maruthappu made the plea after the new Labour government shelved a conservative plan to invest £1.3bn into AI projects.
The projects consisted of £800m for a University of Edinburgh exascale supercomputer and an additional £500m for the AI Research Resource (AIRR).
The cuts, Maruthappu says, would “slow Britain’s progress in becoming a global tech leader”.
“AI can transform productivity and growth across health and social care, and could play a pivotal role in filling the £22bn black hole the government has been talking about,” Maruthappu added.
A spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said: “Using AI to strengthen our economy and improve our public services is a key mission for this government, which is why we launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan – exploring how the technology can drive growth and deliver better outcomes for people across the country.
“AI will also play a crucial role in delivering an NHS which is fit for the future – speeding up diagnoses, unlocking new treatments, and saving potentially thousands of lives.
“We have also committed to maintaining funding for adult social care learning and development at the same level as last year, and are taking steps to build a National Care Service which delivers high-quality care across the country.”
Maruthappu has recommended a handful of key priorities that could help the UK remain a leader in innovation and healthcare.
These included accelerating discharges and healthcare research, patient-first incentives, and prioritising ‘care as a career’.