Change, icebergs and drones – Scotland’s first drone delivery of lab specimens

Change is quite literally in the air, from the increasing emergence of drones and developing capabilities of novel electric air taxis to the modernisation of the airspace they fly in. And change was clearly in play this month at the Edinburgh BioQuarter and Borders General Hospital – not the usual airport locale that NATS is best known for – where Scotland’s first delivery of medical lab specimens by drone between two NHS boards was witnessed.

This feat itself represents the tip of the iceberg – less visible but no less important has been the huge collaborative effort from all the consortium partners that has enabled us to get to this point. A host of complex issues have been solved to establish how the medical drone delivery service will operate and to enable this flight trial to go ahead. The progress we’ve made with our industry partners collectively moves us closer to realising the benefits that a regular, on demand service like this will bring.

How do you move from a theory to action, as we have done in this trial? Consider Newton’s gravitational theory – to accept it is based on repeatable evidence and numerous trials. It has been witnessed and tested so many times that it is now accepted. Now shift to airspace; to move from theory to reality, we need to test and validate each element of the theory repeatedly. We must consider not just the airspace integration, but also the wider aspects of the overall medical delivery service including the landing pad, interactions with NHS staff, delivery management system, and the medical payloads themselves.

These initial trial flights give us opportunities to capture evidence that moves us closer to realising the vision of a medical drone delivery service for the NHS. From an air traffic management perspective, it allows us to put the theory of airspace integration into enduring practice with confidence that the proposed concept is the best solution. This trial is demonstrating a routine beyond visual line of sight drone operation transiting both controlled and uncontrolled airspace. This feeds into the wider goal of enabling scaled drone operations that share the skies safely, efficiently, and equitably with every other type of airspace user.

Our contribution to the consortium is often technical or procedural, so it often lies below the waterline, but this month we surfaced to witness how this service can speed up the delivery of medical lab specimens which will ultimately improve outcomes for patients. In future flight trials in this project we will take further steps, showcasing our air traffic management technology solutions that will take us yet closer to realising the first national medical drone network throughout Scotland. Change is on the way.