Patients at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust can now access their prescription medicines through collection lockers, thanks to a new partnership between Kingston Hospital, Boots, and Clix.

For the first time in the UK, Kingston Hospital has introduced pharmacy collection lockers, allowing outpatients to collect their medication securely and at any time.

This is aimed at supporting patients who are unable to pick up their medicine during hospital hours.

Boots pharmacy team members will contact patients to discuss their medications and give them the option of collection from the lockers using a secure text message.

The lockers are located at Kingston Hospital, with Anthony Lundrigan, Chief Digital Information Officer at the Trust, and Judith Foy, the hospital's Chief pharmacist, joining team members from Boots and Clix to officially unveil the lockers at the end of June.

Foy said: "We are delighted that the new lockers are now available, enabling patients and carers to collect prescription medicines at a time that suits them."

Ashley Littlewood-Miller, National Hospitals Manager at Boots, said: "At Boots, patient centred care is at the heart of what we do, and these pharmacy collection lockers represent a true evolution in the service provided to patients in partnership with the Trust."