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Top health expert issues verdict on Andy Burnham's social care plans

A leading care provider has called for major changes to the social care system

[Ben Maruthappu, founder and CEO of Cera]

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Ben Maruthappu, founder and CEO of Cera(Image: Cera)

The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has set out ambitious plans to improve the social care sector. As critics question how much tax will need to be raised for such reforms, a leading care provider has spoken about how to effectively overhaul the system "without squeezing the public purse".

At-home care provider Cera says there needs to be a focus on radical improvements to social care, with a focus on "early intervention", rather than just pouring more funding into the current system. This comes after the new PM recently pledged to take action on what he called the "broken social care system". The Government warns the faltering system has increased pressure on NHS services, with too many vulnerable people ending up stuck in hospital.

Instead, Mr Burnham wants to bring in a system where social care is integrated with NHS services. The new PM has also promised to improve social care workers' experience, with better pay and training, and more job security. Ben Maruthappu, founder and CEO of care provider Cera, says the key is to improve the system through the use of the latest technology, rather than just allocate more funding.

He said: "My concern is that we will spend the next few years debating how much money social care needs, without fundamentally changing the way care is actually delivered." The former A&E doctor set up Cera in 2016, with the company using the latest tech tools to improve care and keep people out of hospital.

'Early action'

He said that future reforms should "start using AI to turn data into early action". He explained: "If we can spot the subtle signs that someone's health is deteriorating days before they would otherwise end up in A&E, we can intervene and prevent the emergency altogether."

There could be major cost savings here. Mr Maruthappu claims that while a hospital bed costs the taxpayer about 562 a day, it can cost just over 50 for four daily visits to attend to someone's needs at home instead.

He said: "The economics quickly make sense. The technology pays for itself. If you redesign care around early intervention, the massive downstream savings create the financial headroom needed to make free home care a reality nationwide."

One area of the country where Cera has had major success with using technology in this way is in Hammersmith and Fulham, where the provider is working with the council to provide at-home care to elderly residents, without them having to pay for the service.

'Without paying a penny'

Mr Maruthappu said: "Cera delivers care to more than 400 residents every day without asking them to pay a penny. We can afford to do this because, rather than rationing support and waiting for a catastrophic health crisis to strike, we intervene early.

"Our AI tools predict health deteriorations days before they happen. Because of this, we have prevented an estimated 781 hospital admissions in the borough over the past two years, with 2025 showing a roughly 20 per cent year-on-year improvement compared to 2024."

Cera also provides AI-enabled robots in people's homes, which can remind people to take their medication on time and to eat and drink regularly. They can also connect a person to their loved ones through video calls, helping prevent loneliness.

Mr Maruthappu said: "AI has the potential to fundamentally redefine how care is delivered, but today the sector is only scratching the surface. Too much of the system uses technology to record what has already happened, rather than predict what is about to happen.

"We should be using AI to turn social care into the frontline of prevention for high-risk over-65s - drastically reducing overcrowding in our hospitals."

The PM says he wants to work with other parties on the matter. At the time of his speech on the issue late last month, he said: The first thing is to ask Baroness Louise Casey to bring forward her review by a year [the independent Casey commission].

So, working with Yvette (Cooper) and with Angela (Rayner) and other colleagues, we want to expedite that review. We ideally want to do it even sooner, but weve got to be realistic. But if we say a year from now that we have that independent review, then I think we can rise to this challenge with the urgency it requires.

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