The UK's first drone distribution network for medical supplies has moved onto its next phase, with an official launch at Glasgow Airport.

It's hoped that the scheme will help NHS Scotland to deliver better care to those in rural communities, particularly those dependent on rail, ferry and airline timetables.

Flying medical supplies in by drone would allow people in remote areas to stay at home where they can be supported by families and loved ones.

The project is being administered through CAELUS (Care & Equity – Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland), which secured £10.1m worth of funding from the Future Flight Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) last month.

An initial round of funding worth £1.5m in January 2020 saw the consortium design drone landing stations for NHS sites across the country, and the second phase will involve live flight trials and removing any remaining barriers to safely using drones in Scottish airspace.

To celebrate the launch of the new phase, consortium members, stakeholders and politicians gathered at Glasgow Airport to hear more details of the project timelines and work so far.

Scottish Government Public Health Minister Maree Todd provided the keynote speech at the event which had a number of exhibitions on show from partners.

Fiona Smith, AGS Airports Group Head of Aerodrome Strategy and CAELUS Project Director, said: “We were delighted when we heard we were receiving the £10.1m funding from UKRI to move onto the next phase of the project.

“The CAELUS project is set to revolutionise the way in which healthcare services are delivered in Scotland. A drone network can ensure critical medical supplies can be delivered more efficiently, it can reduce waiting times for test results and, more importantly, it can provide equity of care between urban and remote rural communities.

“As well as being able to undertake live flights we can begin to deploy the physical infrastructure needed to support the drones across Scotland. This will involve building prototype landing bases as well as digital and communication infrastructure. We will also work with local communities to ensure they understand why and how the drones will be used.”

Live flight trials will be operated by CAELUS consortium member Skyports. The UK-based drone services provider is an experienced operator of medical and dangerous goods cargo flights. The company was instrumental to early trial flights with NHS Scotland in 2020 and 2021, flying over 14,000km in the region to date.

NHS Grampian's Program Lead for Innovation, Hazel Dempsey, said: "We are incredibly excited to be the lead board for this high-end innovative project.  
"Our aim, from an NHS perspective, is to test the use of drone technology in urban, remote, rural and island landscapes.  We want to test if using drones to will improve important aspects of our logistics service, for example, to test the transportation of laboratory samples, blood products, chemotherapy, and medicine delivery. Ultimately, we want to explore if drone technology can speed up diagnosis and treatment of medical problems. 

“This has the potential to improve services for those whose care is dependent on rail, ferry or airline timetables and help keep people at home where they can be supported by families and loved ones."