We are installing innovative automated medicine cabinets on inpatient wards across the Trust – the first mental health Trust in London to do so.

The Omnicell automated medicine cabinets are being installed on all inpatient wards and Home Treatment Teams (HTTs) across NELFT. The rollout of these cabinets started in August this year, with the aim of completing the project by March 2021.

These electronic cabinets will automatically direct nurses to the appropriate medication, thus reducing the risk of picking errors and saving time in locating the correct drugs. Medication ordering will happen automatically through a robust stock control system – which will minimise shortages and wastage. As a result, the cabinets will improve patient safety and enable nurses to spend more time caring for their patients.

Rahul Singal, Chief Pharmacist, said:

“Omnicell medicine cabinets are a collaborative effort to make medicine dispensation safer, quicker, and more reliable for both patients and nurses. These state-of-the-art cabinets have a number of features which really help us put the patient’s safety first – from clinical alerts to quicker dispensation of the drugs they need – which means more time to care for our patients.”