A NEW automated prescription collection machine has now been installed outside an Irvine pharmacy.

Customers at Lawthorn Pharmacy will now be able to simply enter a PIN to collect their drugs which will then simply be dispensed from a slot.

Shift workers will now be able to collect the prescriptions at more convenient times including Sundays – with pharmacy staff members’ time now also more free to spend with their

patients.

Lawthorn Pharmacy boss Richard Grahame said: “The 24/7 prescription collection point allows you to avoid all queues and collect your medication at a time that suits you.

“Whether you are a shift worker, needing to socially distance or simply in a rush, the Pharmaself 24 will send you a text message when your prescription is ready with a one time six digit pin that you simply key in and your prescription is dispensed to you in seconds.”

We previously reported how firm Willow Health Care had applied for planning permission to launch the idea locally in Lawthorn.

And the plans were fully approved subject to no conditions earlier in the month.

Staff will load the prescriptions into the machine and people could pick them up 24 hours a day at the chemist in Cardow Crescent.

Company Plande lodged a design statement with North Ayrshire Council outlining details of the plan.

The document revealed that the machine could hold 180 dispensing bags and would be monitored by CCTV.