As part of an ongoing trial, the use of drones to deliver blood samples for urgent testing is now embedded as an essential part of the South West London Pathology (SWLP) modernisation agenda, with expansion planned to additional hospital and GP sites.
Since February, drones have been picking up samples from the Nelson Health Centre in Raynes Park and delivering them in just over three minutes to the SWLP phlebotomy laboratory at St George’s Hospital in Tooting for testing – a journey that can take up to 30-40 minutes by road.
The drones, which are designed specifically for safe and efficient small package delivery, provide additional logistics resilience, helping ensure rapid, reliable transportation of urgent samples at a time of heightened pressure on NHS services. This is especially vital during the summer months where extreme temperatures are increasing disruption on London’s already highly congested roads. Each flight can handle a payload of up to 1.5kg – enough for around a dozen blood tubes.
SWLP provides services to a patient population of 1.8 million people, processing 51 million samples annually for all NHS trusts and GP services in south west London. Working with British healthcare logistics startup Apian, SWLP aims to deploy drones to link sites across its network, including St Helier, Croydon and Kingston hospitals, as well as primary care services. SWLP hopes to extend the trial to next February, adding in further healthcare centres in its area.
Simon Brewer, Managing Director of SWLP said: “We are investing heavily in automation and digitisation, introducing other cutting-edge technologies to improve diagnostic precision and speed across the network. But the impact of this investment will be restricted if samples are still getting stuck on roads. Drones help us move samples faster, cheaper and greener, and are now a core consideration of our logistics plans.”
Over 2,000 patients have already benefited from deliveries that are up to 85% faster than ground logistics. By speeding up test results, the service allows clinicians to provide more timely and effective care for patients. Wider rollout has the potential to save SWLP money by reducing reliance on vans and motorbikes across its network. Drones are already up to 23% cheaper than existing urgent couriers on some of the routes, with the cost expected to decrease further over time.
The inclusion of the Nelson Health Centre, a community healthcare hub serving 27,000 patients, marks the first time drones have picked up samples on a routine basis from an NHS primary care facility. Andy Christodoulou, Senior Portfolio Manager at Community Health Partnerships, which manages the site, hails the drones as “a fantastic innovation that is helping the NHS to provide a smooth and effective operation as we expand our services for the community. The drones are reliable and unintrusive, and the NHS staff and patients are always thrilled to see them. The initiative demonstrates how modern, fit for purpose NHS LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) infrastructure can enable forward thinking innovation.”
This service forms the blueprint for how drones will support the crucial shift from hospital to community care, but Apian has already made drone delivery a daily norm for NHS hospitals across London. Dr Sabena Mughal, an NHS paediatric consultant and Director of Healthcare Partnerships at Apian, said: “Drone delivery is no longer a novelty; it has become an essential part of healthcare logistics. Having delivered thousands of samples across London, we have helped clinicians make time-critical decisions for heart attack patients and accelerated critical diagnoses for paediatric patients. These services improve clinical outcomes whilst reducing both costs and carbon emissions. With these benefits firmly established, our focus is now on expanding the network nationwide.”