NHS drone network expands to southwest London
A hospital partnership in southwest London is using zero-emission drones to speed up pathology deliveries, cut emissions, and support community-based care
Urgent pathology samples from southwest London patients will soon be flown by drone to hospital laboratories, as the UK capital’s National Health Service (NHS) drone delivery network enters its next phase.
Under the expanded service, zero-emission drones operated by Apian and Wing will transport samples from the Nelson Health Centre in Merton to St George’s Hospital in Tooting. Delivery times are expected to fall by up to 85%, helping clinicians access faster test results and supporting efforts to shift more care from hospitals into community settings.
The service, delivered on behalf of South West London Pathology and St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, builds on an earlier phase with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and pathology services provider Synnovis. That program saw more than 6,000 patient samples flown, with average cost savings of 28% and a 98.4% reduction in CO₂ emissions per delivery compared with urgent courier vans.
Operations have been approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority in partnership with air traffic manager NATS. Apian, founded by NHS doctors, leads the logistics model, while Wing brings experience from more than 750,000 commercial drone deliveries worldwide.
The NHS recently entered a partnership for medical drone deliveries in Cornwall.
Chloe Fox
Chloe Fox is an Senior Editorial Assistant for Voyageur Group, joining in 2024. She writes for AirMed&Rescue and ITIJ, covering a range of topics including international travel and health insurance, medical assistance provision, and air medical transportation. Chloe holds a BA (Hons) in English and an MA in English Literature from the University of Bristol.