Healthcare support robots: Assisting patients and medical staff

Healthcare systems around the world are under increasing strain. Ageing populations, rising patient numbers, and chronic staff shortages mean hospitals and care homes are looking for ways to deliver more care with fewer resources.

Against this backdrop, robots are emerging as valuable assistants – not to replace doctors and nurses, but to take on physically demanding, repetitive, or high-risk tasks.

This article is not about surgical robots – the machines that perform operations in operating theatres. Those are a different category and will be covered separately.

Instead, here the focus is on healthcare support robots: mobile machines and automated systems designed to help with everyday hospital and care home tasks such as patient lifting, delivering medications, disinfecting rooms, or enabling remote consultations.

Why support robots are needed

Nurses and carers face some of the highest rates of workplace injury, often from lifting and repositioning patients. Time spent fetching supplies or pushing trolleys across large hospital complexes further eats into the hours available for direct patient care.

At the same time, infectious disease outbreaks like Covid-19 have highlighted the risks staff face when entering contaminated rooms.

Robots can help reduce these pressures. By automating routine work, they allow trained staff to concentrate on patient interaction and clinical decision-making – areas where human judgement and empathy remain essential.

Types of healthcare support robots

Patient lifting and mobility

Robotic systems are being developed to help move patients safely from beds to wheelchairs or assist with rehabilitation. These technologies reduce injuries for staff and provide more dignity for patients compared with traditional manual hoists.

Medication and supply delivery

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are finding a place in hospitals, moving medicines, meals, and equipment across wards. Aethon’s TUG robot, for example, has long been a presence in US hospitals.

More recently, Aethon has partnered with Oracle to integrate its robots with cloud-based inventory and supply chain systems, ensuring real-time tracking of materials and smoother hospital logistics.

Swisslog Healthcare has also teamed up with Diligent Robotics to enhance hospital workflows, combining automated material handling with mobile robots to close the gap between pharmacy, supply rooms, and the bedside.

Disinfection robots

During the pandemic, demand surged for robots that could autonomously disinfect rooms using UV-C light or chemical sprays.

Companies such as UVD Robots and Xenex continue to supply hospitals with systems that can quickly sanitise patient areas, operating theatres, and communal spaces without exposing staff to pathogens.

Telepresence and social robots

Telepresence robots allow doctors to consult with patients remotely, moving between rooms under remote control. Meanwhile, social companion robots – such as SoftBank’s Pepper – have been deployed in some elder care settings to reduce loneliness and support wellbeing.

New examples from the field

Recent industry developments illustrate how varied this market has become:

• Aramark and RoboEatz recently launched a round-the-clock robotic meal service for healthcare staff, providing automated food preparation that ensures workers can access hot meals at any time.
• Aethon’s partnership with Oracle integrates mobile robots directly with cloud supply chain management, automating the full loop from material request to delivery.
• BD and Henry Ford Health have deployed a pharmacy automation system in Michigan. While some might see it as closer to a vending machine than a robot, the makers describe it as a robotic solution for medication dispensing, highlighting how broad the definition of “healthcare robots” can sometimes be.
• Swisslog and Diligent Robotics are working together to enhance hospital logistics, underlining a trend towards integrated ecosystems rather than standalone machines.

Market and growth outlook

The healthcare robotics sector is expanding quickly. Analysts estimate the global healthcare robotics market could exceed $15 billion within a decade, with a significant portion focused on logistics, mobility, and patient support rather than surgical systems.

Major players include ABB, Omron, Aethon, UVD Robots, Swisslog, and SoftBank Robotics, alongside a growing number of startups targeting niches such as elder care.

Investment is also flowing into hospital automation platforms – linking robots to cloud systems, pharmacy management, and electronic health records – making these machines part of a wider digital healthcare transformation.

Challenges and limitations

Despite the promise, adoption is not without hurdles. High upfront costs can be difficult for hospitals with tight budgets. Robots must be integrated into complex human-centred workflows without disrupting care delivery. Staff need training to use and trust these systems.

There are also ethical questions: how much patient interaction should be delegated to machines, and will over-automation risk reducing the human element of care?

The future of care with robots

Looking ahead, advances in AI and machine vision are likely to make support robots more versatile, capable of handling multiple tasks rather than being single-purpose machines. A robot that delivers meals might also monitor room cleanliness or provide a telepresence link to clinicians.

The ultimate goal is not to replace healthcare professionals but to create a hybrid workforce where humans and machines complement one another.

Robots handle the heavy lifting, routine transport, and infection-control duties; humans provide the expertise, compassion, and nuanced decision-making that patients depend on.

Indispensable allies

Healthcare support robots are no longer experimental – they are already assisting in hospitals and care homes worldwide.

From lifting patients to delivering meals and disinfecting wards, these machines are quietly becoming indispensable allies for overstretched healthcare staff.

The challenge now is scaling adoption while keeping human care at the centre.

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