Thanks to a delivery drone trial in Hampshire, chemotherapy will be transported to patients in half an hour.

The first of its king trial will see chemotherapy flown to St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, where staff will collect it before distributing it to hospital patients and teams.

“Drones transport chemotherapy in 30 minutes.“

Drones will minimise the usual delivery time to transport chemotherapy, from four hours to half an hour, making cancer treatment convenient for islanders who need to travel to the mainland.

The trial is a combined effort between Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Isle of Wight NHS Trust, Southampton University, Solent Transport, Skylift, King’s College London, Modini, UKRI, Ministry of Defence and Apian.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Executive, stated: “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. As the NHS turns seventy-four 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.”

Darren Cattell, Isle of Wight NHS Trust CEO, stated: “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”.