New robot for pharmacy department – temporary change

Our pharmacy department is undergoing an exciting transformation which will lead to improved service for our patients.

Work is due to start on replacing our current dispensing robot with a new and more technologically advanced robot which will also play a key role in the digital transformation of our hospital services.

In order for these works to be carried out our pharmacy service in the outpatients’ area on Level 2 in the Red Zone will be closed from Monday 4 September until early December 2023.

What does this mean for patients?

For most of our patients, if a prescription for medication is needed they will be given a green FP10 prescription that they can take to their local pharmacy to be dispensed.

However, some patients will still need to have their outpatient prescriptions dispensed by the Trust’s pharmacy department at Medway Maritime Hospital. If this is the case, patients will be given a white outpatient prescription which they will be able to present at a temporary pharmacy service which will be located on Level 1 in the Red Zone from Monday 4 September. Opening times will be Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays, as well as bank holidays, from 11am to 2.30pm.

What are the benefits of the Trust having the new dispensing robot?

• Fast and efficient dispensing of prescriptions as the robot picks the medication
• More capacity for processing work
• High accuracy of stock picking
• Better security of medications
• Stock is automatically put away saving time for clinical duties.

We thank you for your understanding and apologise for any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of the pharmacy service in our outpatients’ area.