The NHS is scaling up its delivery programme of critical medical supplies to hospitals, GPs and care homes, by using drones.
A partnership with Apian, a UK healthcare logistics company, and Zipline, a delivery company, will expand the drone medical supplies delivery programme more than ten-fold.
The service, set to roll out in Northumberland in autumn 2024, reduces the likelihood of cancelled medical procedures and paves the way for job opportunities in robotics and aviation.
Sir James Mackey, chief executive officer of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said: "This expansion with Zipline and Apian is an exciting next step as we strive to improve services for the hundreds of thousands of patients we serve.
"We believe this innovative technology could be used to improve healthcare outcomes, save money and eliminate supply chain complexities, and we're keen to get started."
Dr Christopher Law, medical director and co-founder of Apian predicted that on-demand delivery will improve supply chains and "give doctors, nurses and clinicians more time to focus on the most important thing — their patients".
Likewise, Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, CEO and co-founder of Zipline echoed that the service will be "ten times as fast, less expensive, and zero emission".
It is believed this transition will drive long-term financial savings for the NHS.
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