Isle of Wight Trust to deploy drones to treat cancer patients
A major medical trial will utilise drones to deliver chemotherapy treatment to NHS cancer patients on the Isle of Wight.
On the occasion of the NHS 74th birthday, Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard announced patients on the Isle of Wight will soon receive chemo treatment utilising drone tech. The pilotless vehicles will transport medicine from Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust’s pharmacy to St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight.
The use of drone technology results in a significant reduction in the usual delivery time of four and a half hours between hospitals.
Treatment via drone boosts efficacy across a number of metrics. Chemo drugs have a short life span. The use of drones reduces time and cost of treatment. Each drone delivery replaces at least two car journeys and one hovercraft or ferry journey per journey, vastly reducing carbon emissions, while improving air quality for patients and the community.
The largest impact however will be on those cancer patients who no longer have to travel from the Isle of Wight to the mainland for treatment. This will provide an enhanced quality of life to each patient.
Medical treatment on the island will be improved when a new purpose built surgery at the hospital opens in November of this year.
The NHS state the cancer treatment by drone tech is a world first. The medical body has partnered with tech company Apian to deliver the new treatment program.
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Isle of Wight NHS Trust CEO Darren Cattell said: “The Island has a long history of innovation. We are excited to continue that tradition by utilising the latest technology to overcome the challenges we face and to provide the very best service to our patients.
“We are still at a relatively early stage but the use of drones to transport medical supplies is a concept that has radical and positive implications for both the NHS and for patients across the UK as well as the Isle of Wight. It is great to be part of this innovative project.”
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “Delivering chemo by drone is another extraordinary development for cancer patients and shows how the NHS will stop at nothing to ensure people get the treatment they need as promptly as possible – while also cutting costs and carbon emissions.
“It has been another amazing year of innovation in the way the health service delivers treatment and care.
“As the NHS turns 74 it is clear that the pace of change and improvement across the health service is only accelerating as our fantastic staff seek to make the most of life-changing advances to improve patients lives as we promised in the NHS Long Term Plan.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “I want England to become a world leader in cancer care and using the latest technology to deliver chemo by drone means patients will have quicker, fairer access to treatment no matter where they live.
"Our upcoming 10-Year Cancer Plan will set out a vision for how we will speed up diagnosis, roll-out innovative new treatments and revolutionise cancer services across the country.”
Apian CEO, Alexander Trewby said: “My mother worked for the NHS in Portsmouth her entire life before she passed away from cancer three years ago.
“This project marks a very important first step in the construction of a network of drone corridors connecting hospitals, pathology labs, GP surgeries, care homes and pharmacies up and down the country so that in the future, everyone’s mother will benefit from the delivery of faster, smarter and greener healthcare.”
The trial is a joint effort between Isle of Wight NHS Trust, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Solent Transport, University of Southampton, King’s College London, Skylift, Modini, the Ministry of Defence, UKRI and Apian.
The first flights are expected in the coming weeks.
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