Are robotics the future for elderly care?

Posted: 03/02/2017

With an ageing population, more and more inventive ways are being considered for managing the crisis in elderly care. The most recent suggestion is that robots could be used to help with basic tasks, such as taking tablets, as well as offering companionship to tackle one of the widest reaching problems, loneliness.

These robots are being programmed to deal with cultural and personality differences, but time will tell whether they can effectively replicate a human being. The initiative is an international one, representing the fact that the elderly care crisis is farther reaching than just the UK, and something that needs to be addressed urgently to prevent patients coming to avoidable harm.

One of the aims behind this initiative is to help reduce the incidence of medication errors occurring, and to support staff in care home environments to provide the best possible care, in a cost effective manner.

Helen Hammond, an associate at Penningtons Manches who specialises in clinical negligence claims arising from care of the elderly, comments: “We welcome any attempts to improve the quality of care for elderly patients, however novel they may be. Medication errors can cause significant harm and any reduction in problems arising from this aspect of care can be nothing but a positive step.”

The elderly care team at Penningtons Manches is experienced in dealing with a multitude of specialist problems arising in the care of the elderly, including medication errors, the development of pressure sores, and the incidence of falls. If you are concerned about treatment that you or a family member has received, please contact Helen Hammond in the firm’s Basingstoke office.

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