Robots designed to have a good bedside manner and awareness could help solve the country’s social care crisis, academics have claimed.

A £2m project to develop versatile robots to help look after older people in care homes is currently being developed, with the robots designed to help everyday tasks like taking tablets.

Numerous councils across south west London and north Surrey are struggling with the increasing pressures on social care services.

Surrey County Council has raised council tax by a mammoth 15 per cent, sparking a public referendum, Kingston by 4.99 per cent and Merton by three per cent.

Academics from Middlesex University and the University of Bedfordshire say robots could alleviate pressures on care homes and hospitals.

According to the BBC, the culturally sensitive robots could be developed within three years, with the programme being funded by the EU and the Japanese government.

The robots are already used in numerous homes in Japan.

Prof Irena Papadopoulos, expert in trans-cultural nursing, told the BBC: "As people live longer, health systems are put under increasing pressure.

"Assistive, intelligent robots for older people could relieve pressures in hospitals and care homes as well as improving care delivery at home and promoting independent living for the elderly.

"It is not a question of replacing human support but enhancing and complementing existing care."

The robots, called Pepper Robots, communicate through speech and with gestures and are able to pick up signs the elderly person is unwell or in pain.

Similar robots are already being used in hospitals in Japan to perform tasks such as lifting patients and serving food.