The National Health Service (NHS) is expanding its delivery service by pioneering a new drone delivery program in order to reduce costs and improve services to patients.
The innovative new delivery service will be conducted via a partnership with Silicon Valley-based autonomous delivery system Zipline. UK-based healthcare logistics company Apian will also join the collaboration to help execute the NHS program in delivering medical supplies to hospitals, GPs and care homes, using electric, autonomous drones.
Sir James Mackey, CEO of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“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.”
Zipline, Apian and the NHS will serve more than 30 GP, care and health facilities across the region, reducing the health system’s reliance on expensive last-minute logistics to move products between facilities when needed.
The program will roll out with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust by the autumn of 2024. This new service will provide timely access to prescriptions, wound care and other frequently needed medical products through an on-demand delivery service.
Since its founding, Zipline has flown more than 60 million commercial miles to date and delivered millions of medical products worldwide, including more than 13 million vaccine doses in areas such as North America, Asia and Africa.
