Lloydspharmacy has been awarded a seven-year contract to provide dispensing services for outpatients of the Royal Cornwall Hospital from this month.

A Lloydspharmacy outlet within the hospital would provide a dispensing service for outpatients and the emergency departments, as well as a range of OTC medicines and other healthcare products, a Lloydspharmacy spokesperson said.

The dedicated outpatient dispensing facility would mean hospital pharmacy staff could focus on preparing medication for inpatients and those preparing to go home, she added.

The hospital has previously received criticism for keeping patients waiting for medicines when they are ready to go home, Lloydspharmacy said.

Lloydspharmacy clinical development manager Michael Lennox said: "We bring with us experience of working successfully with a number of other hospital trusts, where we have helped create real cost efficiencies as well as reducing patient waiting times by around 30 minutes on average."

As the number of patients at the hospital had increased year on year, the demand for pharmacy service had grown, added Royal Cornwall Hospital chief pharmacist Iain Davidson.

"Our partnership with Lloydspharmacy means we can increase capacity without additional resource, something that is key in the challenging financial climate within the trust and the wider NHS at present," he explained.