Drone trial launched in Northumbria
The Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, UK, has begun trials of medical-based drone deliveries in northeast England
The trials will initially involve six sorties per day, flown along a designated air corridor between Ashington’s Wansbeck General Hospital in the south, and infirmaries in Alnwick and Berwick in the north. This will gradually increase to 15 sorties per day.
Drones will carry payloads of up to 3kg at speeds of approximately 110km/h, taking chemotherapy from Ashington to the infirmaries, and returning pathology samples.
Trials are being run in collaboration with UAV services unit Skyports, and medical drone start-up Apian. They will run until 12 May, after which feedback will be collected from participating healthcare centers, program operators and surrounding communities. A permanent service is planned for launch in the near future.
Similar trials have been conducted in other parts of the UK, including between Southampton and the Isle of Wight in England, and between Angus and Dundee in Scotland.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca was a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.