Robots To Work In Raigmore Pharmacy

11th July 2020

Two robots will join the pharmacy team at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness in a state of the art transformation to create a more efficient, patient-focused service.

NHS Highland plans to implement the new automated system into its pharmacy department at the hospital early next year, having already completed the planning stages of the project. It will include a robotic stock management system and a second dispensary robot.

The robots are capable of accurately dispensing and managing large quantities of medicine supplies, giving pharmacy teams more time to work with patients.

NHS Highland's Head of Specialist Pharmaceutical Services, Rhona Gunn said: "Evidence shows that introducing robotics into pharmacy brings multiple benefits including improvements in safety, speeding up of the prescription process, and increased efficiency.

"The most exciting aspect is that this will enable pharmacy staff to spend more time managing medicines at ward level, allowing us to provide a more patient-focused service."

Similar robotic pharmacy systems installed in UK hospitals have a proven record of improving operational efficiency while significantly reducing hospital drug bills.