Ane Hansen, nurse:

‘Using the robot drug dispenser with Columna enables us to work more safely, for both preparing and administering medication doses to our patents. Under the old system, surveys in our ward showed that a nurse was typically interrupted four or five times while measuring out doses of medicine for a patient, which made it harder to concentrate. Now two-thirds of the drugs we give our patients come in the form of pre-packed deliveries. This means we can focus on the other third – such as IV medication – that cannot be processed by the robot.

Using the PDA also makes the process of administering the drugs safer. In spite of all the care we take, we are only human, and mistakes can sometimes happen. So it’s great to have a system that warns you when something isn’t quite right. The PDA beeps if the patient details do not match the information on the pack of drugs you are about to administer, or if the medicine is being given at the wrong time.

Our patients are very impressed with the system, and it’s great to have an exact answer ready when a patient asks exactly what you are giving them. Previously that might not be so easy if there were, say, 15 different pills in the glass. Now all the information is right there on the pack, along with instructions on things like whether to crush the tablets in your mouth or swallow them whole.’