AIREDALE Hospital's pharmacy team has welcomed new technology worth £410,000 to help speed up its dispensing service.

Staff now have an automated dispensing robot, designed to allow them to spend more time on wards working directly with nurses, doctors and patients.

The machine should also cut the risk of dispensing errors and help reduce wastage.

Deborah Walker, lead pharmacy technician for medicines distribution, said: “The robot has been a joy to work with. It takes away a lot of the manual parts of our job and allows us to spend more time with patients.”

Around 80 per cent of medicines kept in the pharmacy are now held by the robot which is linked to the department’s computer system.

When an order is placed, the required medicines are picked up by a robotic arm and delivered to the dispensary work station by conveyor belt.

The equipment includes two robotic picking arms, a refrigerated section, and cabinets for storage and management of controlled drugs.

Nick Chilton, clinical director of pharmacy and medicine management at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The project has been in the trust’s capital plan for some years and the pharmacy team are very excited.

"It has become a reality with help from the Department Of Health’s Safer Wards – Safer Hospital Fund and the trust’s digital care programme."