Coventry North West MP Taiwo Owatemi sees how technology is transforming Pharmacy services at UHCW

Pioneering technology helping to transform Pharmacy services at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust has been showcased to Coventry North West MP Taiwo Owatemi.

During the visit to University Hospital Coventry, Taiwo, who worked as an NHS cancer pharmacist before entering Parliament, met Pharmacy staff and heard more about the Trust’s ongoing digital medicines journey.

She saw self check-in kiosks introduced in Outpatients Pharmacy, which allow patients to register their prescription after an appointment and receive a ticket number before collecting their medication. The kiosks are helping to reduce queues and give Pharmacy teams more time to prepare prescriptions.

She also met Tom and Jerry, UHCW’s Inpatient Pharmacy robotic dispensing systems, which store, pick and verify medicines in the Trust’s central pharmacy. With the ability to pick up to 1,600 medicine packs an hour, the robots support locations across the hospital and help release staff time for more patient-facing clinical work.

The visit also showcased the Trust’s latest national first: the integration of Omnicell’s automated medicines dispensing cabinets with the Trust’s Electronic Patient Record (EPR), enabled through NHS England support after UHCW was chosen following a competitive selection process.

The system gives clinicians real-time visibility of medicine availability across the hospital directly from the patient’s record, reducing the need to switch between systems and supporting safer medicines administration. It also allows for safe digital selection and ordering of medicines, all at the patient’s bedside.

Taiwo said: “I know how important timely access to medicines and NHS services is for my constituents. It’s encouraging to see our local NHS leading the way with innovations that improve patient care, support staff and help to ensure people receive the treatment they need as quickly and safely as possible.”

Hardeep Bagga, Director of Pharmacy at UHCW NHS Trust, added: “Our Pharmacy teams are continually looking at how technology can help us work smarter and improve patient safety.

“By joining up our automated dispensing cabinets, robotics and EPR, we are giving staff better information at the point of care, ensuring enhanced safety around medication, whilst reducing waste and freeing up more time for clinical pharmacy support on the wards.