Live flight trials commence for drones to deliver important medical supplies in South East Scotland

During the month of August, there will be flight trials for drones from NHS Borders to NHS Lothian. These trials are part of Project CAELUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS
Scotland), a national innovation project aiming to test the use of drones as a way of delivering vital medical supplies, including essential medicines, blood, samples, and other crucial healthcare items throughout Scotland. CAELUS will explore how drones could enhance and innovate our current healthcare logistic services in Scotland. Potential advances will go a long way in helping patients in remote, rural, and urban communities as well supporting hospitals with the movement of unplanned and urgent medical supplies.

Further information about the project can be found here.

During the trials, the drone will fly from the Scottish Borders and land in a dedicated space set up in the Bio-Quarter at Little France (see image below) just next to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Currently, this is an innovation project with no procurable drone services at present. Any procurable service yet to be developed in the future is not expected for another 3 – 5 years. At that point, a full procurement process would need to be undertaken by NHS Services across Scotland, in the same way any NHS service is currently procured.
This project also support’s NHS Scotland’s 2022-2026 Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy in achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 and becoming an environmentally and socially sustainable service.