The use of home care robots is being scaled by home care provider Cera, saying it could save more than £3,700 per patient per year.
Following pilots earlier this year, Cera has acquired GenieConnect, the technology platform behind one of the robotic lines it has trialled in patients’ homes.
According to the company, the robots can increase care capacity by up to 20% by monitoring patients and delivering care without requiring a physical or virtual check-in. This enables providers to support more people without needing additional human staff.
A licence for a single GenieConnect robot costs local councils and integrated care boards £120 per month, with potential annual savings of £3,768 per patient. Scaled to 200 patients, Cera said that could equate to more than £750,000 annually.
The home care robots assist older and vulnerable people by reminding them to eat, drink and take medication. The pilots showed a 96% success rate in ensuring patients took the right medication at the right time.
The robots, which can be programmed by care teams or friends and family members, can also remind patients about family events or scheduled visits, supporting those with dementia or short-term memory problems.
They also track how patients respond to prompts and reminders, resulting in improved monitoring capabilities and more data to inform future care decisions.
Patients using the home care robots have reported feeling reassured that someone is checking on them every day, greater independence and reduced reliance on human carers, according to Cera. They also reported better connectivity with family and care teams, which boosted their mood and reduced isolation, it added.
More than a dozen local councils and 30 care providers have already trialled the technology. Lincolnshire County Council has included GenieConnect home care robots in its rehabilitation care packages.
Teresa Bainbridge, principal officer of carers at North Lincolnshire Council, said: ‘Genie helps with the simple things that can make all the difference, from cleaning your teeth to taking your medication.’
Cera, which provides care on behalf of more than 100 local governments and almost two thirds of ICBs, plans to roll out the technology more widely across its own services and to license it to other care providers over the next 18 months.
It also intends to integrate GenieConnect’s software with its own technology and dataset, training the robots with its preventative AI tools to improve prevention, care quality and health outcomes in vulnerable and older people.
