Monthly Archives: February 2015
Japanese robot bear nurses soon to care for rapidly ageing population
Photo: The 140kg Robear can lift frail patients from a wheelchair to a bed or a bath. (AFP: Jiji Press)
Robotic nurses with cute bear faces developed by Japanese engineers could soon be the future carers of the nation’s growing elderly population.
Japanese research institute Riken developed the Robear to support healthcare workers, with enough power to lift frail patients from bed and support unstable patients on their feet.
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The care home abuse epidemic
The care home abuse epidemic: Families make 15,000 complaints in just one year (and that’s just a fraction of the true scale)
- Some 14,888 claims about welfare of residents aged 65 and over in 2013-14
- And almost a third of these ‘safeguarding referrals’ were upheld
- Only half of the 152 councils responded to freedom of information requests
- Families claimed their complaints were often ignored or not taken seriously
