Leighton Hospital meet urgent needs with MedPoint installation

Leighton Hospital had been looking at MedPoint’s 24/7 prescription collection system as a solution to reduce footfall into the hospital and home deliveries coming out of the Covid-restrictions.

However, the pharmacy department was faced with a unique situation when a department re-fit saw the dispensary relocate when asbestos was found.

Having already submitted a business case for the MedPoint SOLO, when the department had to move into an area that was a fraction of the size of the usual working space, with no waiting area and a small hatch to provide the same services to patients, regardless of the disruption and loss of reasonable working area, the need for the MedPoint was accelerated.

Leighton Hospital recognised that they needed a solution to enable services to continue, and the only way that prescriptions could be dispensed without huge queues forming in the hospital corridors was to install a MedPoint SOLO.

The business case was approved quickly, and due to the urgent need for 24/7 prescription collection, four weeks later Leighton Hospital became the first NHS Trust to implement a MedPoint SOLO.

We caught up with the team from Leighton Hospital to find out more about their experience.

What were the main challenges you were facing?

Time. The need to put a solution in place quickly to reduce the additional stress in the working environment, due to the loss of a considerable amount of space. The pharmacy team at Leighton worked closely with MedPoint to ensure that all options were thoroughly played out, discussed, and outlined so that the installation could take place in the shortest possible timeframe.

The unique stand-alone solution, the SOLO, was the solution of choice. With a large, paved area at the front of the hospital’s main entrance and a 20 minute free drop off zone, this provided an ideal location for patients to collect their medication at a convenient time for them, without the need to queue and pay for parking or re-enter the hospital and queue in the corridors for a substantial amount of time.

Reducing the queues also reduced pressure on the staff at a time when the department was operating in very challenging conditions.

What are the main benefits of your MedPoint?

Everyone loves it. After two years of implementing the system, we have over 3,000 patients signed up to use it and the numbers grow every month.

All the clinics have engaged with the service and many prescriptions received from the consultants are to go into the MedPoint. We have less prescriptions waiting to be collected and there is a huge improvement in compliance now patients do not have to collect their medication during opening hours.

The MedPoint is a huge help to patients with Covid as they can collect without entering the hospital. There is a much better pick up time, especially for owings.

Before we had the SOLO, it would take staff weeks to call up patients and chase them to come and pick their medication up. Queues have been reduced which is much better for everyone. And home deliveries that were provided during lockdown have been reduced significantly. It is so easy to use for both staff and patients.

24/7 prescription collection empowers patients to collect their medication when it is convenient for them.  Prescription collection is no longer dictated by the dispensary opening hours.

Installing a MedPoint enabled the dispensary team to continue to operate during a time of turmoil and without it, prescription collection provision would have been significantly impacted. Now the department re-fit has been finished, the system continues to allow for an improved patient experience and a reduction in queues in the waiting area.

Still open for business

Having the MedPoint has meant we have offered a service to patients even when we are closed. Many patients are not able to access the dispensary when it is open, which leads to medication not being collected.

Returning into the hospital itself can be challenging for some patients too, so being able to collect at the system without paying for parking is a huge benefit. Overall, the team here at Leighton Hospital couldn’t be happier with the addition of the MedPoint SOLO to our dispensing team.

Over the past eight months, more than 1,000 new patients have been signed up to the MedPoint. From the point to text being received, there has been an average pick-up time of 40 hours and an average of 300 orders collected a month. The figures just showcase the demand from patients for innovative solutions and convenience when it comes to prescription collection.

Ready to learn more?

If you’d like to find out how MedPoint could benefit your hospital, feel free to get in touch with our team.