Drones slash time taken to transfer urgent blood samples between London hospitals

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is trialling a drone delivery service in which urgent blood samples can be transferred between the rooftops of Guy’s Hospital in London Bridge and St Thomas’ overlooking the Houses of Parliament in two minutes.

Moving samples between the two hospitals by road can take more than half an hour and the time-saving is crucial: the trials will deliver blood samples from patients undergoing surgery at Guy’s who are at high risk of complications from bleeding disorders, but for whom the necessary specialist blood analysis equipment is only available at St Thomas’.

This six-month operation is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, which has granted the airspace approval. It has been organised as a partnership between Guy’s and St Thomas’; Apian, a healthcare logistics company founded by NHS doctors; and Wing, a global drone delivery company that is part of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

This is a landmark first for the NHS in London. Apian and Wing have previously partnered on medical drone delivery in Dublin, Ireland, and Apian has trialled medical drone deliveries in rural areas of the UK.

Professor Ian Abbs, Chief Executive at Guy's and St Thomas', said, “The drone pilot combines two of our key priorities – providing the best possible patient care and improving sustainability. We are proud to be the first Trust in London to trial this innovative approach to help speed up blood sample analysis for our most urgent cases.”

Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth, Howard Dawber, said, “This new service is a great example of how the innovation and vision of a London startup has brought much-needed investment from across the globe to tackle important health issues facing our city today – showing how London is leading the way in improving healthcare as we build a fairer London for all.”

Sophie O’Sullivan, Director of Future of Flight, UK Civil Aviation Authority, said, “Innovative trials like this from Guy’s and St Thomas’, Apian and Wing help demonstrate the many positive and safe ways that drones can be used for society – in this case, to improve patient outcomes and deliver significant environmental benefits. This is one of the many reasons that we are working with companies through our sandbox trials programme, to enable the test and development of pioneering new aviation technology in the UK.”

Dr Hammad Jeilani, Co-Founder of Apian, said, “Drones can increase the responsiveness and resilience of healthcare logistics, allowing clinicians to be more productive and patients to get the care they need sooner. An NHS drone delivery network in London, starting with this innovative trial, will provide on-demand, automated and sustainable deliveries, helping the NHS create more efficient models of working and our doctors and nurses to deliver the highest quality care for patients.”