An automated system to dispense medicines is being trialled in a north Wales hospital in a bid to enable staff to spend more time on the wards.

The new technology at Glan Clywd hospital, Bodelwyddan, should be operational by the summer.

It will also minimise prescribing errors on the wards as doctors will have extra staff to support them Ann Slee, chief pharmacist

It is hoped the system, which will be quicker than current techniques, will also help reduce errors in dispensing medicines.

The hospital is one of the first three in Wales to introduce the service, as part of a �500,000 Welsh Assembly scheme.

Chief pharmacist Ann Slee believes the main benefit will be that staff will have more time to spend at the patient's bedside.

"This will mean talking to patients and telling them what medicine they are taking and why," she said.

"It will also minimise prescribing errors on the wards as doctors will have extra staff to support them.

"It is true to say that the system will also reduce the number of human errors that occur when the drugs are dispensed," she added.

Rare mistakes

However, Ms Slee stressed that such mistakes were rare.

"The national average is 16 errors per 100,000 items dispensed," she said.

"The figure also includes typing mistakes such as a comma or a full stop in the wrong place.

The new system will be implemented at Glan Clwyd hospital

"However, the more we can reduce the number of errors, the better it will be for patients," she explained.

The system works by placing all the drugs within a robot which consists of stacks of shelves.

A "picking arm" then removes the drugs from the shelves, labels them and sends them straight to the dispensing staff.

"As the shelves are stacked closely together, a terrifically high number drugs can be stored within the robot," explained Ms Slee.

"As the system can turn out the drugs far more quickly than the present manual system, it means that nurses will be back on the wards more quickly," she said.

New technology

Welsh Assembly Health Minister Jane Hutt said the system was part of a wider initiative to make the most of high-tech innovations.

"Our pharmacy strategy for Wales aims to ensure that we make the best use of what new technologies can offer," she explained.

Similar systems will be introduced at Llandough Hospital in south Wales and West Wales General Hospital.

The assembly has allocated �500,000 to take the scheme forward at the three hospitals.