ACA has created a robot pharmacy design within Northwick Park Hospital on behalf of London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust.
The Design Brief
Firstly, the brief was to develop the design of an existing hospital pharmacy to improve the functionality of the space. Secondly, the requirement was to adapt the internal layout to cater for a new recruit – a pharmacy robot! Thus, a ROWA system is an automated medication storage and dispensing system in hospital pharmacies.
Above all, the BD Rowa Vmax robot can scan, store and distribute thousands of packs of medication every week. Furthermore, it enables the pharmacy team to supply medicines quickly and reduce the risk of medicine picking errors.
Layout Design
The proposed layout of the dispensary room improves the functionality and movement throughout the space for patients and staff. Furthermore, the overall internal design is spread out within two storeys, on the 3rd and 4th levels. The lower level will include:
- Robot storage room
- Fridge
- Lobby
The upper floor level will include:
- Reception
- Consultation Room
- Dispensary Room
- Offices
Interior Design
ACA’s interior designer selected furniture suitable for a hospital pharmacy to create increased storage in the dispensary room. The colour scheme avoids a traditional white environment, creating a contrast by introducing grey and yellow throughout the upper floor level. It can be difficult to work with white pills on a white worktop. So, we introduced yellow worktops and grey floor finishes to achieve a contrast.
ACA selected all floor and wall finishes to achieve NHS infection control standards.
Noise Reduction
The use of floor and ceiling finishes as well as sound absorbing plasterboard helps to significantly reduce noise levels. Especially around the ROWA robot system area, where noise reduction is essential.
Fire Safety
Updating the fire statutory requirements ensures fire safety.
