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Laboratory specimens have been flown by drone from one NHS board to another. The flight trial between NHS Lothian NHS Borders is part of the Project CAELUS initiative, led by AGS Airports in partnership with NHS Scotland.
During the three-week trial, flights took place beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) between the Edinburgh BioQuarter next to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Borders General Hospital in Melrose. The initiative aims to reduce delivery times to as little as 35 minutes, enabling much faster clinical decision making, diagnosis and treatment. The service can take up to five hours by road.
Project CALEUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland) is working with 16 consortium partners to deliver what will be the first national drone network that can transport essential medicines, bloods and other medical supplies throughout Scotland including to remote communities. The initiative is part funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge. It brings together 16 partners including the University of Strathclyde, Skyports Drone Services, NATS and NHS Scotland.
In the latest BVLOS flight trials, tests were also carried out on how NHS staff in future would engage with the drone both physically and digitally.
Since January 2020, the CAELUS consortium has designed drone landing stations for NHS sites across Scotland and developed a virtual model (digital twin) of the proposed delivery network which connects hospitals, pathology laboratories, distribution centres and GP surgeries across Scotland.
The project is trialling various prototypes. In October 2023, CAELUS flights took place between Glasgow Airport and NHS Golden Jubilee in Clydebank, to demonstrate the integration of drones with modern airspace. And in March 2024, NATS completed flight simulations for the project at its head office in Hampshire.
CAELUS project partners have reported “overwhelming public support for using drones in medical logistics across Scotland”.