RoboPets have made a real difference to older, cared-for people in Bedfordshire

In September 2024, Sembia Johnson joined M&C Home Support Ltd in Bedfordshire as Care Manager, and in February 2025 became the Registered Manager. The company, founded in 2022 by husband-and-wife team Marco Faia and Celia Alves, has been growing steadily, now employing 19 staff and supporting 24 clients.

Sembia explains: “We provide personalised care in our clients’ own homes, which includes everything from personal care, medication support and social visits to help with shopping and correspondences.”

Since May 2025, Sembia and her team have introduced five robotic pets into their care services. The collection including two cats, two birds, and one dog is already proving beneficial for clients experiencing mental health challenges, anxiety, or loneliness.

“The RoboPets have made a real difference,” says Sembia. “They’re more than just gadgets – they’ve become comforting companions and have significantly improved our clients’ quality of life.”

More than 700 people have received robotic pets through the Digitising Social Care programme, delivered by the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Health and Care Partnership in collaboration with Health Innovation East and the University of Hertfordshire. The programme is assessing the usability, acceptability, cost-effectiveness, and overall impact of these devices.

Each pet is carefully matched to the individual client based on their personal history and preferences. One client, for example, who lives with depression, anxiety, and agoraphobia, had a strong bond with a neighbour’s cat that passed away. She was given a robotic cat, who she named Sooty. For over a year, the care team has been supporting her in building confidence to go outside, and Sooty has become an important part of that journey.

Sembia says: “Since having Sooty for just over a month, this client has attended a social event and gone to the shops by herself (with Sooty) for the first time in years! It’s testament to the calming influence, reassuring companionship and the confidence that RoboPets can provide.”

A bedridden service user who is unable to communicate verbally smiled, when her family played birdsong to her. Since placing a robotic bird in their home, she now tries to speak and communicate when the bird (perched on the side of her bed) sings.

As well as helping when people become anxious, the pets provide companionship which can ease the pressure felt by carers. They can be a good talking point to help friends, family and carers to engage with those who usually aren’t so communicative.

Sembia says: “This technology is not only beneficial to our clients, but we have also received brilliant feedback from their family members and that has given our team a really big morale boost.

“RoboPets are such a great idea, they’re helping people to become calmer and happier. They’re the next best thing to having a pet – I hope to be able to give them to more of our clients.”

Expressions of interest are still being accepted from care providers that meet certain criteria. The study will run until March 2026, and the findings will be published shortly afterwards.

To find out more, visit www.blmkhealthandcarepartnership.org/robopets or contact the team on blmkicb.digital.socialcare@nhs.net.