Scotland's first drone port to begin work with the NHS
The pilot scheme will see medical equipment, medicine and samples delivered to health centres in Dundee and Angus by drone
Last updated 11th Feb 2022
Scotland's first drone port, based in Montrose, will next month begin working with the NHS as they kick off their beyond the line of sight trials.
Mercury Drone Ports is set to establish Angus as a centre of excellence for the development of drone technologies in Scotland. The port will provide a trials airspace area to support drone companies and end users conduct onshore and offshore drone flight trials.
Receiving funding from the UK Government’s £26.5 million Angus Fund, as part of the Tay Cities Region Deal, Mercury Drone Ports is a public-private partnership between Angus Council and DTLX, supported by a number of local and national businesses.
Beginning in March, the first drone trial flights will transport medical equipment, samples and medicine via an unmanned aircraft to and from multiple healthcare facilities between Angus and Dundee assisting with the response to COVID-19.
The trial is set to provide the NHS with an on-demand collection and delivery service which will allow samples to be collected from local medical practices for analysis at pathology laboratories at larger hospitals quicker and more reliably than current transport alternatives.
Angus Council leader, Councilor David Fairweather, said: “By introducing drone transportation services and working with the NHS we can play our part in transforming the health system in Angus. This level of improvement could potentially allow life-saving treatment to be able to commence earlier by reducing testing times, speeding up diagnoses for patients, all at a reduced cost to the NHS by reducing the reliance on expensive taxi transportation that currently exists.
“As the significant demands continue for COVID-19 testing, we are delighted to lead the way through innovative technologies to increase connectivity with our rural facilities, at a time that the NHS requires greater support.”
UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: "I think this has got a huge potential to be a centre of excellence for the drones industry which is going to be a many billion pound global industry and the work that can be done here, I think, can be ground breaking."
The MP added: "I've been learning today about drones being used to help service the offshore wind industry. It can be used to do safety checks. If the technology develops, to actually transport people around as well."
On the impact the drone port will have for Angus, the minister added: "If this grows as we hope it will, you'll have lots of inward investment to the area and that can only be good for the local economy as a whole."
Richard Stark, director at DTLX said: "For us it's brilliant because you're the first, you see. If we can do it here, actually, in Scotland then we'll be one of the first places in the UK and it could put Angus right at the centre of the global drone industry if everything goes to plan."
On the beyond the line of sight trails Stark added: "Here they'll be transporting blood samples and covid samples from Montrose Health Centre all the way down to Stracathro Hospital, then into Dundee. We also have a little leg that goes out to Kirriemuir to do exactly the same.
"That will enable GP practices to have a sort of on-demand test service which currently doesn't exist."
On what the future holds for drone technology, Stark added: "It kind of depends on the public acceptance, so, the high case is that we have flying taxis, we have delivery's to your house of your pizza's and everything else. We'll be flying drones off to the wind farms. Ultimately in 10-15 years iso containers going offshore."
Chris Hind, Clinical Laboratory Manager at NHS Tayside, said: “NHS Tayside is delighted to be part of this drone delivery trial. This project will benefit our understanding of future opportunities to develop and improve our supply chain and help resilience in response to challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This trial operation will ensure that we have a fast and frequent transport service which can be used for COVID-19 testing as well as a range of other pathology samples.
“To increase our capacity in diagnostic testing, NHS Tayside plans to extend phlebotomy testing hours at some regional medical practices. We are very interested in testing additional logistical support to transport patient samples, which would permit samples to be taken at later times than currently possible for delivery to the main testing lab at Dundee Ninewells Hospital.
“We believe drone delivery services will help to improve diagnostic sample transport times across Angus rural areas, helping NHS Tayside to provide an equitable level of healthcare across Angus, regardless of a patient’s geographical location. In addition, this can be a more efficient, cost effective and lower carbon means of increasing capacity whilst improving provision in the region.”
Mercury Drone Ports will be based within the ZeroFour Hub, a partnership between Angus Council and Crown Estate Scotland, which currently has planning permission in principle for a mixed-use business park.
