Hospital Adds 'Robot Workers' to Handle Daily Duties

Would you trust a robot with your IV drip? Patients in Scotland will soon have to, now that a hospital in that country is preparing to debut a line of automated staff members to help with day-to-day duties -- doling out medications included.

At the Forth Valley Royal Hospital, set to open this August, robots will be summoned via hand-held PDAs. They'll clear meal trays, tidy rooms, carry waste and -- yes -- dispense drugs.

The hospital also boasts a pharmacy staffed entirely by 'bots, according to BBC correspondent Eleanor Bradford, who toured the facility.

"This is the first in the U.K. where the robots will sort, label and dispense the drugs," she writes.

Not only will the robots give human doctors and nurses more one-on-one time with patients, they'll also offer a hygienic boost to the hospital environment.

"Traditionally, clean and dirty tasks are carried out by the same person," infection control nurse Lesley Shepherd told the BBC. "Here, you'll have the robots that do dirty tasks, so they may take dirty linen or clinical waste away, and you'll have robots that do clean tasks, such as bringing meals and clean linen to patients."

Hospitals in Japan, the U.S. and France already make use of robots -- though not always to enthusiastic patient response.

"I thought it was something from outer space," recalled Katherine Thomas, 63, of her visit from a 'bot doing the rounds at a Houston hospital last year.