NHS cancer patients are set to become the first people in the world to receive their chemotherapy via a drone, as part of major new trial.
Announced by NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard on the health service’s 74th birthday, patients will benefit from the latest “extraordinary instalment” of cutting-edge innovation in the NHS.
As part of the trial, chemo will be flown directly from Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust to St Mary’s Hospital, where staff will distribute it to hospital teams and subsequently the patients.
Given the short shelf life of some of the doses, chemotherapy can be quite challenging to transport, which is why the NHS is pioneering this world’s first approach.
The drones will reduce the usual delivery time from four hours to just 30 minutes – ultimately not only saving fuel, money and time, but also making cancer care more efficient for the patients, and much more convenient for those on the Isle of Wight, where the trial will start.
Amanda Pritchard said: “Delivering chemo by drone is another extraordinary development for cancer patients and shows how the NHS will stop at nothing to ensure people get the treatment they need as promptly as possible – while also cutting costs and carbon emissions.
“From a smartwatch to manage Parkinson’s to revolutionary prostate treatments and making the most expensive drug in the world available to NHS patients, it has been another amazing year of innovation in the way the health service delivers treatment and care.
“As the NHS turns 74 it is clear that the pace of change and improvement across the health service is only accelerating as our fantastic staff seek to make the most of life-changing advances to improve patients’ lives as we promised in the NHS Long Term Plan.”
Each one of the drones will replace at least two car journeys and one hovercraft or ferry journey, which will also help cut down the NHS’s carbon footprint and improve air quality for their patients and the communities they live in.
The drones are set to be trialled initially in the Isle of Wight, as aforementioned, but also then the expectation is the programme will expand into Northumbria, with the hope being that clinicians will be able to make “same-day orders” for crucial medical equipment and treatments.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust CEO, Darren Cattell, said: “The Island has a long history of innovation. We are excited to continue that tradition by utilising the latest technology to overcome the challenges we face and to provide the very best service to our patients.
“We are still at a relatively early stage but the use of drones to transport medical supplies is a concept that has radical and positive implications for both the NHS and for patients across the UK as well as the Isle of Wight. It is great to be part of this innovative project."
For more information about the trial, click here.
