NHS to trial drone delivery for chemotherapy drugs

The NHS is to use drones to courier chemotherapy drugs in a bid to speed up the delivery of vital medicines.

It is hoped that using drone technology will one day enable doctors to make “same-day delivery” orders for drugs and medical equipment from anywhere in the country.

A pilot scheme is to be launched to assess using drone technology in the health service.

The trial will see a drone deliver chemotherapy drugs from the pharmacy at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust to St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight.

The drone will cut delivery times to the Isle of Wight from four hours to 30 minutes, as one flight will replace two car journeys and one hovercraft or ferry journey per delivery.

NHS England officials said that chemotherapy is difficult to transport as some doses have a short shelf life.

As well as saving time and money, the new delivery method, launched in partnership with tech company Apian, will offer a better option for cancer patients living on the island, many…