NHS chiefs deploy fleet of drones to deliver vital medicines
SCOTLAND’S largest health board is planning to use drones and driverless cars to ferry medical supplies across the region.
NHS Highland is looking to hire a private drone operator to pick up and drop off supplies from GPS’ surgeries, hospitals and care homes across the area, which covers nearly half of Scotland’s land mass.
The board is also exploring whether drones could be used to fly supplies on to the 36 inhabited islands in its area, in a move the board has hailed as “exciting and unparalleled”.
It is the latest move towards using technology within the NHS to make supply chains more efficient.
Hospitals could soon be sending and receiving medical supplies by drone as part of efforts to enhance the supply chain, improve delivery times, and reduce the environmental impact of procurement processes.
NHS Highland is the largest in Scotland and covers an area of 12,500 sq miles and is equivalent to 41 per cent of the country’s land mass.
But despite the size, it has a population of only 321,000, who are served by 10,000 NHS staff, 100 GP practices and 25 hospitals, which stretch from Campbeltown Hospital in the south, to Dunbar Hospital, Thurso, in the far north.
The area is also often blighted by poor weather and the board is now tendering for a partnership with an aerial drone operator to improve the reliability of getting urgent supplies across the area.
NHS Highland also covers such a large, mainly mountainous area that taking supplies across sites can take hours by road, so bosses are looking at speeding up deliveries by
taking the shortest route by air, if it is possible. The board has issued a procurement notice looking for drone companies to submit ideas to make it feasible.
The document states: “We envisage in the future that drones and unmanned vehicles could form a key part of our logistics service and add resilience into our supply chains.
“They could be used to transport goods and supplies across the region, delivering and picking up items from sites including, but not limited to, GP surgeries, hospitals and care homes.
“We need a service that can deal with the worst aspects of the weather and our mountainous terrain but still be resilient and reliable. A service that is safe and secure is of paramount importance, as is the ability to demonstrate a cost-effective and sustainable service can be achieved.
“We have an appetite to try something new and we’re excited by the possibilities a service development such as this could bring for staff and patients across the Highlands.
“It is our belief the opportunity for development and testing a commercial drone service in the UK with public sector partners is unparalleled.”
A fleet of futuristic robot porters are roaming the corridors of the flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
The robots – known as automated guided vehicles (AGVS) – use a network of underground tunnels and a dedicated lift to navigate the 14-storey hospital.
The battery-powered NHS porters queue at a variety of designated spots around the hospital as they wait for staff to call them into action. They are able to collect a wide range of cargo, including kitchen materials, linen and medical supplies dispensed from specially-designed loading bays. The robots are also able to call themselves a lift that allows them to deliver the goods to the correct floor.
NHS Highland would become the first in Scotland to use drones but there have been trials of the technology proposed across parts of England in the past year.
A UK Government-backed study has proposed introducing drones to ferry blood and medical supplies between London’s main hospitals.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has been working with a global innovation foundation Nesta in its research funded by Innovate UK, the Government agency funding science that will see a drone network connecting 34 London hospitals to deliver life-saving supplies and quicker test results.
Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said: “Providing healthcare quickly and efficiently in the Highlands and Islands is always going to be a logistical challenge. This project seems like a very innovative approach that could harness technology for the benefit of patients and healthcare staff. It is, however, important that strict safety restrictions are in place, as we have recently seen the massive disruption that drones can cause.”
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: “NHS Highland, in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise and University of the Highlands and Islands, is looking to explore if drone technology could assist the partnership in the future”.
A BMA spokesman said: “The unique challenges of delivering healthcare across the remote and rural areas that NHS Highland covers no doubt demands innovative solutions. Any new ideas such as this have to be carefully planned.”
We’re excited by the possibilities