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Date: 22 May 2012
Time: 17:09
Competition to name new pharmacy robot
Story posted/last updated: 12 July 2011
University Hospitals Birmingham has launched a competition to name a special robot which is helping to dispense medicine in a hi-tech fashion.
State-of-the-art robotics have been introduced at the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to deliver a fast and futuristic pharmacy.
The new Vmax model robot is the centrepiece of the new Outpatients Department Pharmacy which opened on Monday 4 July 2011.
The robot, delivered by ARX Limited at the end of May 2011 in a series of flatpacks, improves efficiency and speed, as well as reducing the amount of storage space needed for dispensing prescriptions.
Now you are invited to name the robot, which cost less than £100,000 to create.
Inderjit Singh, Associate Director of Commercial Pharmacy Services at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said the robot was already giving a suggestion of developing its own personality.
“At night, it tells the pharmacy assistant how much stock it has of each product, and even does housekeeping by moving packets around. It’s just like it is tidying up.”
The robot will help to deliver an efficient service to the public.
Mr Singh added: “This sort of state-of-the-art technology is becoming more popular in pharmacy provision, both in hospitals and community pharmacies.
“It can dispense a variety of different medicines in seconds – at incredible speeds and without error. This really will be of huge benefit to patients at UHB.
“As well as being very efficient, they also need less storage space – an area measuring just 1.6 metres wide, 8 metres long and 3 metres high. We currently store 2,500 products but it can hold 16,000.
“We are stocking it with drugs based on the four phases of outpatient moves to the new hospital.”
The Vmax is a bespoke system and can dispense to a variety of drop points using conveyor belts, chutes or even air tubes.
To store medication in the Vmax, the barcode is scanned and the pack measured. The sophisticated technology in the robot registers exactly what drug the pack contains.
The pack is then taken by the robot’s picking head and placed on a shelf inside the machine.
“We scan the drugs and drop them in and the robot decides where best to stack them based on the size of the product and the frequency of use. Something that doesn’t get used as often, the robot puts higher up.”
The system is also able to report stock levels to the user, who can place an order if levels are low.
The robot, which is supported by a new computer system, is currently ‘fed’ products on an individual basis, but a drawer will shortly be installed which will enable bundles of medicines to be sorted and stored.
UHB has created a subsidiary company, Pharmacy@QEHB Ltd, to run the Outpatients Pharmacy – a UK first.
The opening of the Outpatients Pharmacy on Monday 4 July 2011 is part of a phased transition of pharmacy services from Selly Oak and the old Queen Elizabeth Hospital to the new QE site.
To enter the competition, email your entries to:
Email: Communications@uhb.nhs.uk
The winner will receive a brand new ipod.
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