Robot Helps with Vaccine Rollout

UK's largest medicine-dispensing robot that uses Amazon-style technology has helped supply 2.1m Covid jabs in Glasgow.

14:46 29 January 2022

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is currently using the UK's largest medicine dispensing robot, allowing them to process up to 72,000 Covid jabs per week. The robot, which uses Amazon-style technology is responsible for supplying 2.1million Covid vaccines in Glasgow. 

 

Orders are placed online and the entire high-tech production line works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Medicines are packed into blue boxes which are in turn packed into vans and transferred to acute sites. 

 

Claire Aliyar, chief pharmacy technician at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: ‘The team have been working really hard throughout the pandemic – especially at the very beginning, because it just happened so fast.

 

‘We tried to get as much stock in as we possibly could before it all started and we did manage to get some but it was going out as soon as it came in.’

 

She added: ‘We did a small proportion of NHSGGC’s vaccine programme before, but nothing on the scale we needed.

 

‘It became huge, a massive part of our workload and we took the new warehouse space from scratch and now we’re supplying more than 70,000 doses each week – more than 2.1 million doses to date.

 

‘The more prepared we are, the less pressure there is in the wards and departments.

 

‘It’s been a huge success. I’ve never worked with a team like this.