Introduction
RoboPets are life-like devices that are designed to help adults living with dementia, older people who may be living alone, or anyone who is unable to have a ‘real pet’ of their own. Available as cats, dogs and birds – robotic pets bring comfort, companionship and can also be used as a communication aid between the cared-for person and their carer. Some devices include interactive features, such as sound and movement, that enhances the sensory experience for the user.
Visit the RoboPets Website for more information.
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) Health and Care Partnership is being funded by NHS England to evaluate the impact of RoboPets on adults receiving social care. Delivered in partnership with Health Innovation East and the University of Hertfordshire, the project aims to assess a range of outcomes for service users, carers, staff and organisations, including quality of life and to understand any barriers or challenges to using Robopets as part of routine service delivery.
An online Expression of Interest form is further down this page.
Adults within the scope of the project
Participants to the project will be selected based on the following characteristics:
- Dementia
- Low mood or anxiety
- Living with or experiencing behaviour that challenges
- Cognitive impairments
- Communication difficulty.
These adults may be living independently with support from domiciliary care or living in accommodation designed to support adults with care (such as extra care or assisted living, or full-time residential or nursing care).
Anticipated benefits of RoboPets
Research into the use of RoboPets has identified a range of potential social care benefits. The project will evaluate how, when and where the following benefits can be realised for cared-for people in BLMK.
- Stress and anxiety reduction – RoboPets can provide a focus for a cared-for person and help to reduce agitated and distressed behaviour
- Companionship – RoboPets can provide lasting support to a cared-for person, particularly when they have previously owned a pet
- Activity – RoboPets can be used as a prompt to invoke memories or to engage in sensory-based activities
- Engagement – RoboPets can be used as a tool to initiate and sustain communication between the cared-for person and the carer
- Respite – RoboPets can be used to temporarily divert the attention of the cared-for person while a carer undertakes other tasks (such as preparing a meal or cleaning).
Getting involved – our inclusion criteria
If you wish to be part of this project, you are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI). Applications are open to adult social care services that meet all of the following criteria:
- You are an adult social care service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Your business provides care services from an address registered with the CQC that is in either Bedfordshire (including Bedford town), Luton or Milton Keynes. Your service actively provides care services to adults living within Bedfordshire (including Bedford town), Luton and/or Milton Keynes
- You are using a Digital Social Care Record to record a person’s care information
- The type of care you provide is described by one or more of the following CQC ’Service Types’: Care home service with nursing, Care home service without nursing, Community-based services for people with a learning disability, Community-based services for people with mental health needs, Domiciliary care service, Extra Care housing services, Shared Lives, Supported living service
- The adults you are caring for are described by one or more of the following CQC ’Service User Bands’: Dementia, Learning Disability, Mental Health, Sensory Impairment
- You must be able to commit to participating in the evaluation being conducted by the University of Hertfordshire, which may include sharing data; collecting additional data via questionnaires and enable access for the evaluation team to conduct observations and a small number of interviews
- You are not currently using a RoboPet (or equivalent devices) in the care of the cared-for person
- You are not participating in our ‘PainChek’ project.
Our constraints
We are only able to fund the one-off allocation of each RoboPet. We are not able to meet any subsequent costs incurred for the maintenance, repair or replacement of a RoboPet.
We are only able to allocate RoboPets to individuals in receipt of formal care. We cannot provide RoboPets for shared use between two or more cared-for people. We cannot provide RoboPets for use in shared or communal areas (for example, the lounge or day room of a care home).
Responsibilities
You will:
- Select a RoboPet from the different models available that best meets the cared-for person’s preferences and needs, where possible involving the cared-for person in the choice of RoboPet.
- Commit to using the device by actively promoting its use and ensuring continued usability through maintenance (such as cleaning, recharging or replacing batteries).
- Ensure that each RoboPet remains exclusively used by the cared-for person to whom it was originally allocated. Note: Shared use of RoboPets and/or use in communal areas is not permitted.
- Commit to staff training and utilising this new technology throughout the lifecycle of this project.
- Provide comprehensive data on each cared-for person – including but not limited to personal and care information, an initial quality of life assessment data before using RoboPets, regularly collect and share data on the RoboPet’s impact, and participate in feedback activities such as attending ad-hoc project related meetings and benefits evaluation surveys. This may include admitting researchers from the University of Hertfordshire to visit the site and observe the RoboPets in use.
- Share experiences of the technology with peers and potentially take part in case studies.
- Commit to the project – as will be detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
We will:
- Provide information about the different features and designs of RoboPets that are available.
- Provide this information in an accessible format.
- Provide RoboPet device(s) including handover and training as required.
- Maintain records of the individual allocation of each RoboPet to the cared-for person.
- Provide remote or on-site advice and support available to facilitate the use of the RoboPet(s) in social care settings.
- Provide clear descriptions and explanations of the type of data to be collected and shared, including the frequency and method, and engage with care settings to capture feedback through various means such as email, telephone, and virtual meetings.
- Provide terms of reference for case studies and assist with the drafting and finalisation of the same.
- Provide the MOU and SOP.
Please complete the online EOI form:
Next steps
We will confirm receipt of your Expression of Interest and then make an assessment of whether we can include you in this stage of our project. We will notify you in writing of our decision.
Please note: Applicants who are invited to participate will need to provide additional information including identifying information for each cared-for person who will receive a RoboPet. This additional information will requested separately.
You can find out more about what we’re doing by clicking on each of the links below. For more information on the programme, or any of our projects, please email the team.