Pharmacists in Burton will be able to dispense medicines more accurately and spend more time with patients thanks to an innovative new robot named Herman.

The pharmacy department at Burton's Queen's Hospital now has a new Robotic Dispensing System, an automated system which ensures medications are ready for patients to collect in a timely manner and reduces the risk of human error in dispensing.

Herman was installed by Omnicell, which specialises in developing and manufacturing robot dispensaries around the world. The machine took three weeks to install and has already become a welcome addition to the team.

Cyrus Hodivala, UK sales manager for Omnicell, said the new system would remove considerable amounts of manual work with stock tipped directly onto the loading conveyor on arrival.

Cyrus Hodivala, the UK sales manager for Omnicell, with the new machine at Burton's Queen's Hospital

The "fill-in-box" assembly, sorts, scans, weighs, sizes, identifies and loads all the packs into the main storage unit called the MediMat.

The MediMat is lined with shelves with a picking head that runs on a digitally-controlled rail through the centre of the unit. Only the robot knows where all the packs are, to avoid manual intervention and potential miss-picking.

Elisabeth Street, chief pharmacist, said: "The transition of Herman joining our team has been very smooth by providing an accurate service to patients, which will save us time. I would like to thank Omnicell for the support they have given to our team over the last few months, and to my team for continuing to work at a stellar standard during the installation process."

She said traditionally the pharmacy staff had shelves of medication boxes lined up which they had to unpack and put away. They then had to label them up and do all of the loading themselves.

Herman will relieve the staff of these duties and improve safety, removing the possibility of human error and streamlining the process.

Mrs Street said patients would also benefit from the robot as the technicians would be able to go out on the wards more. They will also be able to spend more time with patients discussing their background and medication to ensure they are taking the right drugs.

The Robotic Dispensing System at Burton's Queen's Hospital

The name Herman was chosen following a competition in the department and the winner received a bottle of sparkling wine and chocolate. Mrs Street said they used this as a way of integrating the machine into the team.

Dr Magnus Harrison, medical director, said: "The technological advancement of the pharmacy department places Burton Hospitals in the best position to provide an even more efficient and effective service to patients. The inclusion of Herman into the team will allow the pharmacists to have more capacity to focus on other patient requirements, which will only improve patient experience and service."

The machine, which can cost between £60,000 and £400,000, joined the department in August as they fine-turned it and overcame any slight problems. It has now been officially unveiled and is being embraced by the team.

The Robotic Dispensing System has been embraced by the pharmacy staff

Mr Hodivala said: "When you become a nurse or a pharmacist you think you are doing it to treat patients - to help people. Nobody tells you that such a large part of your role is counting boxes of consumables or medications or picking packs off a shelf. But it is - and all of that takes time away from the patients you so dearly want to treat and help.

"Through the vision of the Burton Hospital Board and the clinical directors here Queens Hospital they saw the advantages of automating those mundane functions to return clinical time to patients and improve patient safety.

"We are proud of the relationship that Omnicell has developed with Burton, first in the automation of Clinical Inventory Management in their treatment centre and now with the launch of this fantastic new Robotic Dispensing System for pack medication in their central dispensary.

Chief pharmacist Elisabeth Street and chief pharmacy technician Faye Prescott with the new Robot Dispensing System

"Imagine the room how it used to be - filled with row upon row of shelves, every shelf filled with packs in alphabetic order.

"Some medications might have three or four different strengths all stored next to each other. When you are picking packs hundreds of times a day, you can imagine that it is incredibly easy to pick the wrong pack for dispensing to a patient or ward.

"And, as the demand on the dispensary becomes larger so the chance of a major clinical error becomes more acute.

"The robotic dispensing system manages all of that.

"We at Omnicell are immensely proud of 25 years of supporting hospitals and pharmacies in their automation targets both within the NHS and across the world and we look forward to supporting Burton NHS Trust both now and in the future."

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