'The picker of Dibley' - £350k robot revolutionises Whitehaven pharmacy

  • Watch as ITV Border's Andrew Misra goes to Whitehaven to see 'The picker of Dibley' at work

A pharmacy in Whitehaven has been revolutionised by a robot joining the team, which has been nicknamed "The picker of Dibley."

The new machine at the West Cumberland Hospital picks medicine off the shelves, saving staff time and freeing them up for other duties.

The piece of German engineering cost £350,000 and Pharmacy Lead Natalie Peat says it is quickly becoming a valued member of the team.

She said: "It is making a real impact because it removes the need for the dispensers to go and take the medicine off of the shelf.

"It delivers it directly to their workstation. It basically gives us a way to utilise people’s time better and manage it more effectively."

Alongside managing staff's time effectively the robot also improves accuracy in the workplace and can also do some duties better than humans.

Staff are able to be freed up to do other tasks because of the robot Credit: ITV Border

Natalie adds that the robot is not designed to take anyone's job from them.

She said: "It is just designed to free up people’s time so they can be used elsewhere.

"Hopefully, this will lead to a more patient-focused approach. So that people aren’t down here all the time picking stock.

“We have watched this being built from scratch. It is a really impressive piece of kit and sometimes I find myself putting stuff away because it is really good to watch.”

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