NHS Wales Explores Drone Technology for Medical Services
NHS Wales is pushing the boundaries of medical innovation by investigating the use of drones to enhance its services. Two pioneering projects are currently underway, with a primary focus on the transfer of blood products and the potential for drone-delivered defibrillators.
The Welsh NHS Medical Drone Delivery Network project, recently awarded £500,000 by Innovate UK as part of the UK Research and Innovation Future Flight Challenge, aims to revolutionize the transfer of blood products through drone technology. The project involves collaboration between Snowdonia Aerospace, SLiNK-TECH Ltd, Welsh Health Drone Innovation Partnership, Welsh Ambulance Service Trust, and Welsh Blood Service.
Healthcare leaders and government representatives will witness firsthand the cutting-edge aerospace technology at an upcoming event at Snowdonia Aerospace Centre on July 11, 2024, as part of the project’s development and demonstration phase.
With a business case and roadmap expected to be presented to the Welsh government by the end of 2024, the project has the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency and resilience of medical supply chains in Wales.
Health Minister Andrew Stephenson expressed optimism about the transformative potential of technology in healthcare, highlighting the role of drones in improving medical supply chains and patient care. The collaboration between the drone industry and the medical sector is seen as a valuable step towards enhancing public services.
In addition to the blood transfer project, the Welsh Ambulance Service is also exploring the feasibility of using drones to deliver defibrillators to individuals experiencing cardiac arrest, in partnership with the University of Warwick and industry partners SkyBound. The results of the Drone-Delivered Defibrillators study are expected to be available in early 2025.
This initiative by NHS Wales follows in the footsteps of previous drone trials in the UK healthcare sector, such as the successful use of drones to deliver pathology samples by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
