AI Surgical Readiness Closes the Gap for Deprived Communities
84%
improvement in patient-reported quality of life
£250
saved per patient
1 day
shorter length of stay
- Customer Type
- ProviderGovernment
- Patients served
- +1,500,000
- Location
- South Tees, UK
- Use cases
- Surgical Readiness
Overview
South Tees NHS Foundation Trust serves one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged regions in England, where health inequalities are high. In January 2023, the Trust partnered with Sword Intelligence and Public Health England to launch a hybrid pre-habilitation program for patients awaiting major surgery, offering a choice of digital support or face-to-face care.
The program ran for 11 months, with each patient following an 8-week structured pre-habilitation journey. Patients were recruited from the most deprived postcodes, and the evaluation tracked quality of life, programme preference, length of stay, and cost.
Results showed that nearly half of a high-risk, digitally underserved population chose AI-supported pre-habilitation over in-person care — achieving better outcomes while saving money.
“The feedback from our patients has been overwhelmingly positive since we began working with Sword Intelligence.”
Professor Gerard Danjoux
Consultant Anaesthetist and Perioperative Care Lead South Tees NHS Foundation Trust
Impact
84%
improvement in patient-reported quality of life in the digital cohort
Digital sets a new benchmark that outperforms face-to-face care (81%)
£250
cost saving per patient vs. face-to-face prehabilitation
Achieved while delivering better clinical outcomes
1 day
shorter mean length of stay vs. the face-to-face group
Digital cohort showed higher behavioural risk factors for surgery
Other organizations changing with Intelligence.
Intelligence Helps the
NHS Prevent Surgical
Complications
reduction in surgical complications
Cutting Hospital Stays
with AI-driven
Prehabilitation
saved for one NHS Trust in 3 months