A new hi-tech hospital being built in Scotland will be the first in the UK to use a fleet of robots to take over from humans in tasks such as transporting heavy medical equipment and laundry.

The initiative at the £300 million hospital at Larbert, Stirlingshire, is intended to allow hospital porters to spend more time dealing with patients.

Fans of the sci-fi film I, Robot, starring Will Smith, may be reminded of what happened when robots began to control and dominate humanity.

But so far, the use of "porter" robots, which have already been used in a number of hospitals in France, Japan and the United States, has proceeded without problems.

David Stark, a director of the architectural company Keppie Design, which planned the new hospital, is enthusiastic about the latest recruits.

"The robots will move along a network of corridors completely hidden from the patients. They will then come out of a lift, stop, and be taken to their duties by a nurse.

"Medical robotics is something which is becoming integrated into hospital architecture - the robots will be guided along the corridors by either following a metal strip on the floor or by infrared sensors.

"Hospitals are a huge facilities-management nightmare for people with lots of dirty materials, linens and parcels needing to be transported - the robots deal with the logistics."

The robots, costing tens of thousands of pounds each, have cameras that are viewed by staff who can monitor the items being transported.

Just like mainstream NHS staff, the fleet of robots will operate 24 hours a day, with a rota system allowing them time off to be charged up.

These won't be the first robots used in hospitals. Charlie Song, of the department of surgery at Dundee University, has used robots in operations. He said: "Robotic surgery has been around for over ten years and it is its turn to come to the fore.

"There have also been operations carried out by robots guided by a surgeon who is thousands of miles away at another hospital. Robots will never replace a surgeon's hand, but there are some things they can do better. For example, robots do not get tired or bored.

"Nothing is 100 per cent reliable but if something goes wrong, a surgeon is always around to step in and take over.

"In the future, there may be robots which can be inserted into the body's orifices for totally non-invasive surgery."

A pilot study under way at St Mary's hospital in London using Remote Presence (RP6) robots allows doctors to "virtually" examine patients from anywhere in the world via a robot using wireless technology.

The robots, nicknamed Staff Sister Mary and Dr Robbie, have a screen displaying the doctor's face, allowing patients to discuss their treatment.

Michael Summers, vice-chairman of the Patients' Association Scotland, has mixed feelings about the increasing use of robots in hospitals.

"There is nothing wrong with using 21st-century technology to benefit patients, and transporting goods would seem to be a good start," he said. "But we would be a little cautious if this was to move on to robots diagnosing someone or being involved in surgery."

ATTENTION-SEEKING GIMMICK?

THE use of robots in hospitals is described as a logical and cost-effective development. However, the scheme has its critics, who foresee both social and technological problems.

Professor John Bowers, an expert in hospital efficiency at the University of Stirling, said he had doubts robots would be beneficial for patients and hospitals.

"The prospect is both frightening and exciting," he said. "The 'porter' robots could be taking a job away from someone who is providing intelligent human interaction with patients.

"Hospitals can be quite dehumanising places, and robots would take the process even further."

Glyn Hawker, Scottish organiser for Unison, the largest healthcare union, warned that the "porter" robots were "attention-seeking gimmicks" which could break down.

"One of the problems with PFI/PPP [funded hospitals] is the lack of flexibility if changes are needed. We are concerned that an extra set of parallel corridors appears to be being planned, with all the costs that this will entail. What happens to them if there are major problems?

"These sort of developments should be introduced in consultation with front-line staff - not as attention-seeking gimmicks. The history of PFI/PPP is littered with expensive technological disasters, so we will be monitoring this very closely."