Guide 2
Honest, practical guidance for families navigating the use of companion robots in care homes, or thinking about a companion device for a relative at home.
Families in this situation often have good questions and find it difficult to get honest answers. Your relative's care home has introduced a robot. Or you have seen an advertisement for a companion device for elderly people living at home. You want to know what these things actually do, whether they are good for your relative, and what your rights are if you have concerns.
This guide answers those questions plainly. It does not represent any product or provider, and it does not overstate what companion robots can do.
Important note: this guide provides general information only. It is not medical or clinical advice. If you have concerns about your relative's care, you should raise them directly with the care home management or, if necessary, with the Care Quality Commission.
If your relative's care home uses a companion robot, you may have seen or heard about a device that looks like a screen on a stand or a small wheeled unit. These are communication and social-interaction devices. They are not humanoid robots in the science-fiction sense; they do not walk or perform physical tasks.
What they typically do: they can hold conversations with residents using AI, they support video calls with family members (in some cases making it easier for residents with limited dexterity to connect with family), they deliver reminders about medication or meals, and they can play music, news, or entertainment content. Some are designed with particular attention to residents living with dementia or social isolation, aiming to provide a source of interaction during periods when staff are occupied.
What they do not do: they do not perform any physical care. They do not administer medication, provide personal care, support mobility, or substitute for a carer's presence in any physical sense. They do not monitor health in a clinical way, and they are not a substitute for regular visits from family or for adequate staffing by human care workers.
The honest assessment of their value is this: for residents who engage with them, and in care homes that deploy and support them thoughtfully, companion devices can reduce social isolation and improve the quality of family contact. That is a real and meaningful benefit. It is also a limited one.
If your relative has mental capacity, they have the right to choose whether to engage with any technology offered by the care home. A care home cannot require a resident to interact with a companion robot. If your relative finds the device confusing, distressing, or simply does not wish to use it, that preference should be respected and recorded.
If your relative lacks mental capacity, decisions about their care, including the use of assistive technology, should be made in their best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Best-interests decisions of this kind should involve people who know the resident well, which typically includes close family members. If you hold lasting power of attorney for health and welfare, you have a formal role in decisions about your relative's care.
You are entitled to ask the care home: what is this device, what does it do, what data does it collect about my relative, how is that data stored and who has access to it, and how is consent handled for residents who cannot express a preference independently? These are reasonable questions and a well-run care home should be able to answer them clearly.
If you have concerns about a companion robot in your relative's care home, start with the care home management. A good manager will welcome the conversation, explain what the technology does and does not do, and take your relative's preferences seriously. Most concerns at this stage can be resolved through a direct conversation.
If you believe the technology is being used in a way that harms your relative, or that your concerns are not being taken seriously, you can raise the matter with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC regulates care homes in England and takes concerns about resident wellbeing seriously. They can be contacted at cqc.org.uk. Similar regulators operate in Wales (Care Inspectorate Wales), Scotland (Care Inspectorate) and Northern Ireland (RQIA).
If you have concerns specifically about how your relative's personal data is being handled in connection with the companion device, you can raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
We provide information only. If you need advice specific to your relative's situation, contact the care home directly, seek advice from a patient advocacy organisation, or take legal advice if appropriate.
If your relative lives independently and you are thinking about whether a companion robot or similar device might help them, this is a different question from the care home context. The technology is more varied, the regulatory environment is different (home care is not CQC-regulated in the same way), and your relative's own preferences are the central consideration.
The strongest indication for a companion device is significant social isolation: a relative who is spending a lot of time alone, who has limited mobility that makes it difficult to maintain social contact, and who is comfortable enough with technology to engage with a screen-based device. Some older people adapt very quickly to this kind of device; others find it off-putting or confusing. Your relative's own view matters most.
It is worth being realistic about what the device can and cannot do. A companion robot can provide conversation, reminders, entertainment and family video calls. It cannot provide safety monitoring equivalent to a dedicated personal alarm system, it cannot provide clinical monitoring of health conditions, and it cannot substitute for human contact and support where that is what is genuinely needed.
If your relative's primary need is safety at home, a personal alarm system (telecare) is a more appropriate starting point than a companion device. These are available through local authority social care departments, often at low or no cost, and are specifically designed for emergency response. Companion devices address a different need.
If you decide a companion device is worth exploring, look for a product that is genuinely available for purchase in the UK (not a prototype or research device), has clear documentation of what it does and does not do, comes with ongoing support (devices that are abandoned by the manufacturer leave users with no help when things go wrong), has clear terms about data handling and what happens to your relative's interaction data, and can be set up and used by someone with your relative's level of technical confidence. A device that requires constant technical support to operate is not suitable for independent use by an elderly person living alone.
We do not endorse specific products. Our role is to help you ask the right questions, not to recommend a particular purchase.
Companion robots are at their most beneficial when they supplement human care, not when they are a substitute for it. A relative who is lonely would benefit most from more human contact: more visits, more phone calls, and better support from care services. Where that is not possible, and where the technology suits the individual, a companion device can meaningfully reduce isolation and improve the quality of family contact.
The risk worth naming is this: technology can make it easier for families, care homes, or commissioners to feel they have addressed a problem without addressing it fully. A care home that deploys companion robots and reduces staffing has not improved care. A family that buys a companion device and visits less often has not solved the problem of isolation. The technology is a supplement, not a solution.
We name this not to discourage the use of companion technology, which can be genuinely valuable in the right context, but because honest guidance means being clear about the limits as well as the benefits.
If you have a specific question about a companion robot being used in your relative's care home, or about evaluating a device for home use, write to us at hello@humanoidrobotcare.co.uk. We provide information only; we are not a regulated care or clinical service.
Our guide for care professionals, What robots actually do in UK care homes today, may also provide useful context for conversations with care home managers or commissioners.