CLEANING & HYGIENE
March of the Care Home Robots
Robots are fulfilling a number of important roles in care homes, such as providing company for residents, offering medication reminders and carrying out cleaning tasks. Essity’s Liam Mynes looks at the importance of striking a balance between resource efficiency and a reassuring human presence in the care home.
Robots will soon be coming to a care home near you.
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction but, during a global pandemic, the idea of using machines to fulfil certain tasks that are normally carried out by humans is beginning to seem increasingly attractive.
We are at last able to see the light at the end of this enduring COVID-19 tunnel, but the need for social distancing is likely to stay with us for some time to come. In any case, it is always vitally important to minimise the risk of cross-contamination among the vulnerable elderly while providing them with the best possible care.
This past year has been particularly tough on care home residents. The virus has swept through many facilities and those residents who have successfully managed to escape the illness have had scarcely any visitors along the way. And the few friendly faces they have come to recognise around the home have now become alarmingly unfamiliar, obscured as they are by face masks.
So, what better time could there be to create a fleet of care home assistants with human-like faces that will provide residents with endless company and a listening ear?
In January this year, Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics announced its plans for a mass roll-out of humanoid robots during the first half of 2021.
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The lifelike Sophia robot will fulfil a range of roles, such as greeting customers in facilities such as shops and airports. And it is predicted to have a particularly important role in care homes.
Sophia is able to give therapy sessions, provide social stimulation, take residents’ temperatures and lead morning exercises. Additionally, the friendly face of the robot will be a refreshing sight in this frightening new world where masks have become the norm.
In fact, robot assistants are not completely new to UK care homes. In September 2020, clinicians from the University of Bedfordshire led a trial of Pepper robots in various residential homes around the country.
Made by SoſtBank Robotics, Pepper machines have been designed to help alleviate loneliness amongst the elderly while also boosting mental health. They are able to gather and store data concerning the backgrounds of care home residents, allowing them to initiate conversations based on the elderly person’s own interests. Pepper robots will also play residents’ favourite music and remind them to take their medication.
Robots have become an attractive proposition during the global pandemic. Besides being able to spend longer periods of time interacting with care home residents than busy staff members can do, their non-human presence also aids social- distancing requirements.
This also makes them ideal for other tasks- such as care home cleaning. In fact, care home cleaning robots are already being
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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