Now that the pressure on healthcare is unprecedented, the use of healthcare robots is increasingly being considered. They use these at De Zorgcircle, which is active in various places in North Holland, among others. There, social robots support elderly people living at home. However, according to the Center for Ethics and Health, they are not the solution: robots are limited in what they can do in social interaction and cognitive support.
Various care robots are being developed to support the needy and care employees. For example, you have care robot Pepper that keeps clients company, flower pot Tessa that helps structure the day by scheduling tasks and robot arm Obi, a helper for eating.
hope ease
At the Care Circle, among others, active in Zaanstreek-Waterland, Purmerend, Edam-Volendam, Alkmaar and Heiloo-Egmond, they use robot Tessa for numerous activities. “It provides a lot of convenience,” says spokesperson Bianca van Overveld.
Robot Tessa is used there, for example, to help people remember. Think of the time for taking medication, when the domestic help comes and what time the daytime activities start.
Dementia
Van Overveld mentions a client with dementia as an example. “This person can take care of themselves, but is very forgetful. For example, she was often at the door an hour before the start of the daytime activities.” She is now on time with the care robot. “People are encouraged to do more for themselves. That helps to maintain self-esteem.”
According to Maartje Claassen, director at SARA Robotics, a company that manufactures social robots, the robot can ensure that people can live at home longer. In addition, according to her, the robot ensures that the daily structure of the person in need is more adhered to. For example, around drug intake.
“Sometimes people like to take a nap after taking medication. This is possible with a medicine dispenser. When a healthcare worker administers the medication, this is often not possible. Because the healthcare employee is present at that time, all tasks must be completed at that time. be performed, for there is no time.” According to Claassen, the robot can also help spread the activities of care providers and therefore provide more breathing room.
“In an ideal world, there are several people in line for each client, but that is not the reality. You have to make choices”
The Center for Ethics and Health (CEG) is less enthusiastic about the care robot, because according to them it can hardly take any physical tasks off your hands, as they describe in the report. Robotization in long-term care† And if robots are already designed to take over tasks such as feeding and lifting, clients can feel that they are being treated as an object, according to the CEG.
They also emphasize that the presence of robots can clash with values such as involvement, compassion and responsibility. It is also important to keep an eye on what care treatment does to people: the use of robots changes the relationship between care provider and care recipient.
Less human contact
They also fear that the use of social robots will result in care recipients having less contact with people. According to them, it can be used as a justification for leaving someone alone for longer.
Van Overveld of De Zorgcircle does not recognize himself in the criticism. “Personal contact remains important. Contact with their loved ones and, where necessary, with a care provider. In an ideal world there would be several people in line for each client, but that is not the reality. You have to make choices and then technology is a welcome addition to the service.”
Both Van Overveld and Claassen agree that the robot can never replace the care worker, but it provides air and less work pressure. Van Overveld: “By transferring certain care tasks to the robot, the employees can focus more on the person. I see it as an extra tool. It gives the client more control.”
“Outwardly, we all need human contact. This has been proven again due to the corona crisis, in which a lot of things had to go digital,” Claassen adds. “People got skin hungry. Human contact is one of the most important tasks of a healthcare worker. No robot can compete with that.”
