The UK’s Chesterfield Royal Hospital now is one of only a handful to introduce electronic prescribing across the site.

Electronic prescribing is, according to a General Medical Council (GMC) report, “12 per cent less likely to be associated with a prescribing error than hand written prescriptions”.

A spokesman said: “Electronic prescribing systems improve the legibility of prescriptions and remove the possibility of prescriptions being misplaced or lost.

“So far, we’ve had positive feedback from staff.”

The system is accessed through the hospital network via a PC or mobile devices.