Ascribe extends integrated Pharmacy and Robotic IT systems to Royal Bolton Hospital

Ascribe plc (AIM:ASP), the innovative health IT Group, today announced that it has successfully installed its Web Pharmacy solution at the Royal Bolton Hospital, part of the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust and that the site is completely operational.  One unique aspect of this ‘Go Live’ was that, on the same day that the hospital changed its pharmacy IT system, they also brought online a robotic dispensing system; thereby taking a massive leap forward in improving patient care and safety. 

The Ascribe Web enabled pharmacy system is designed by healthcare clinicians to ensure higher patient safety standards. It achieves this by using a patient’s medication record which effectively warns pharmacy staff automatically, via use of its integrated decision support service, if there may be a dangerous drug interaction or allergic reaction arising from the dispensed medications.

The Ascribe pharmacy system was selected by Bolton Hospital NHS Trust because it extends such a broad range of complementary pharmacy services outside of the dispensary. The system has been designed to allow ward-based clinical services, such as medicines management (whereby medicines can be ordered wirelessly from the wards) and electronic prescribing and medicine administration (which records exactly what medication was prescribed, when the medication was administered to the patient, and what reaction was noted).  In addition to this, the Ascribe pharmacy system also provides the hospital pharmacy staff with a bi-directional interface from their pharmacy system to their Rowa Speedcase Robotic Dispensing unit, allowing pharmacists to both issue requests for prescriptions to their robotic system and receive (stock level) updates from their robot.

Brian Smith, Chief Pharmacist at the Royal Bolton Hospital said “The Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust is delighted that Ascribe was able to deliver such a robust and flexible pharmacy system within a twelve week project cycle. Our staff has welcomed the additional patient safety features that are embedded within the system and we look forward to extending our pharmacy services beyond the pharmacy itself, thereby saving time and providing a higher level of service to our clinicians and patients.” 

Stephen Critchlow, Executive Chairman of Ascribe plc said “Ascribe is delighted that the Royal Bolton has taken this step to improve patient safety standards. Our technology enables Hospitals to provide their clinicians with comprehensive and relevant information when and where healthcare decisions are made. This technology is in increasing demand and we have recently sold similar systems in the UK (at Addenbrookes Hospital, part of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), and overseas in Australia & New Zealand.”