Cera, Europe’s largest HealthTech, has announced it is signing up one new Local Government every week as part of the fastest ever rollout of care robots in UK home care.
The expansion comes as health and care services face mounting pressure across the country.
Around 2 million people aged over 65 in England are now living with an unmet need for social care, while rising demand, workforce shortages and increasing pressure on hospitals continue to stretch services beyond capacity.
Many older people are not receiving support early enough to stay well at home, meaning relatively small problems can quickly escalate into serious health crises.
Cera’s AI Care Robots are designed to help older and vulnerable people stay healthier, safer and more independent at home for longer.
The robots support people with medication, food and hydration reminders, wellbeing check-ins, and connection to care teams and loved ones.
They have delivered excellent results in pilots:
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96 per cent success rate for ensuring patients take the right medication at the right time.
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64-80 per cent success in encouraging people to eat.
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78-90 per cent success in encouraging people to drink regularly.
Patients using them have reported feeling reassured that someone is checking in on them every day, greater independence, and better connectivity with family and care teams – improving their mood and reducing isolation.
“My robot is so helpful, it reminds me to take my medication every morning,” said Aiden Cosgrove, 63, who uses a Cera Care Robot for medication and food reminders.
“I used to sometimes forget to take it until the afternoon, which really affected my mood – but now I’m taking my medication on time, eating better, and sleeping much more regularly too.”
For carers, the robots offer significant time efficiencies, freeing staff up to focus on the highest-acuity cases whilst still ensuring all patients receive high-quality care and support.
Critically, they boost providers’ care capacity by 20 per cent and productivity by up to 80 per cent – enabling care companies to support more people without the need for additional human staff.
A GenieConnect robot can deliver annual cost savings of more than £11,500 per patient per year – translating to significant savings once scaled.
The rollout builds on Cera’s wider technology-enabled model of care, which combines frontline home healthcare with proprietary AI and robotics tools.
Cera is able to scale the rollout rapidly through its existing partnerships with more than 100 Local Governments and two-thirds of NHS regions across the UK.
Because Cera already delivers frontline care for these partners at scale, Care Robots can be easily embedded into Cera’s existing care contracts – helping expand care capacity at a time of growing demand.
Dr Ben Maruthappu MBE, founder & CEO of Cera, said: “Too many older people are only getting help once they reach crisis point – after a fall, a hospital admission, or a serious deterioration in their health.
“Technology can help us intervene earlier, keep people healthier at home for longer, and ease health system pressures.
“As demand for care continues to rise, more than ever before, we need new, practical ways to deliver more support at home.
“The rapid adoption we are seeing of our Care Robots is evidence of that growing demand. This is the fastest robotics rollout the sector has seen, because Cera is uniquely able to embed robotics into existing care contracts through our nationwide network of Local Government and NHS partnerships.
“By combining frontline care with AI and robotics, we can help more people get the support they need before they reach crisis point – tackling isolation, supporting independence, and greatly improving vulnerable and older people’s quality of life.”
The rollout forms part of Cera’s wider strategy to accelerate technology-driven care in the home and expand access to preventative, home-based healthcare at scale.
Cera is the only home care provider globally with both its own AI capabilities and dedicated robotics division, enabling care, AI and robotics to work together in one connected model.
Find out more about Cera at cerahq.com
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