Robots Marcus and Mary start work at Royal Hobart Hospital
They don’t need days off and can do heavy lifting without the risk of injury: the latest additions at the RHH will help more than just patients.
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THEY might not have the quirky character traits of R2D2 and C3PO but a pair of robots will play a vital role in making sure surgical equipment at the Royal Hobart Hospital is clean and safe for use.
Mary and Marcus are the newest additions to the hospital’s Central Sterilising Department.
The department provides equipment for nine operating theatres and inpatient and outpatient services in the RHH plus five new operating theatres, procedure room, angiography and more in K-Block — as well as other health facilities in Hobart.
Deployed for the first time in an Australian hospital, the automated vehicles will help staff by delivering around 100,000 packed hospital instrument trays to the new sterilisers and cut down on injuries by doing the heavy lifting for them.
Health Minister Sarah Courtney officially welcomed the new robots to their new home yesterday saying they would be a great help.
“It means that our hardworking staff in this area won’t have to do the manual tasks of pushing and pulling in heavy trays repeatedly,” she said.
It means that we’ll have a robot to be able to assist them doing that and the state of the art facility will ensure that all the equipment that we need to run our suite of operating theatres at this hospital will be able to be serviced by this department.
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“It’s a great initiative, and it shows that in this renovated new K-Block we’re able to offer our staff and our patients world class facilities, it will mean better outcomes for our staff in, it will mean less workplace challenges, and also mean a safer and more efficient environment for our staff.
Mary and Marcus are part of a $2.8 million upgrade of the sterilising department as part of the K-Block redevelopment.
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