Small electric drones have begun flying blood and urine samples from the health centre in Tarnmere to the laboratory at Wrenhaven General Hospital, in a trial that health officials hope will speed up test results for patients in the Asher Valley. The first regular flight took off from a landing pad behind the health centre on Monday morning.
The 27-kilometre route, which follows the River Asher for much of its length, takes the drones about 18 minutes. By road, the same journey takes more than an hour, and samples are usually collected only twice a day by courier van. Doctors say faster delivery means some results can be back the same afternoon, rather than the following day.
The aircraft, built by a Wrenhaven start-up called Kestrel Aero, carry up to two kilograms in a sealed, temperature-controlled box. They fly a fixed route at around 100 metres and are monitored throughout by a pilot at a control room in Eastmoor, who can bring a drone down at a designated safe landing site if anything goes wrong.
For a patient waiting to know whether their medication needs changing, a day can make a real difference.
Safety and noise
Dr Morwenna Ellery, a GP in Tarnmere, said the trial would be especially useful for patients on blood-thinning drugs, who need frequent tests. The aviation regulator has approved the route for the six-month trial, which avoids flying directly over houses wherever possible. Kestrel Aero says the drones are quieter than a passing car at ground level.
Some residents near the landing pad raised concerns about privacy, but the company says the drones' cameras point only forward for navigation and do not record. The hospital trust will publish an evaluation at the end of the trial, looking at reliability, cost and how much time was saved, before deciding whether to add routes to other villages.