Drone technology showcase day prepared for Welsh health and government officials
Aerospace innovators will be showing off their latest technology to Welsh healthcare and government leaders next month to prepare the Welsh NHS for drone-based services.
The…
June 30, 2024
Aerospace innovators will be showing off their latest technology to Welsh healthcare and government leaders next month to prepare the Welsh NHS for drone-based services.
The event will see the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre and SLiNK-TECH displaying their work to date having won the UKRI Future Flight Challenge (in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care), to develop a concept for a drone-based service to transfer blood products.
It will be held at the aerospace centre in Wales on 11 July and will feature live demonstrations of cutting-edge technology from SLiNK-TECH’s system, PORTAL, talks led by industry experts and networking opportunities.
Work on the project has been going on since April with the two businesses working alongside the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) and Welsh Blood Service (WBS) to develop the concept and consider other ways in which NHS Wales’ supply chain could be improved with drone infrastructure.
It was inspired by the fact that Wales’ unique geography and low population density means that moving healthcare supplies across the country and reaching the most remote communities can be a challenge, with very real consequences for patients.
It is hoped that with the support of a drone network, supply chains can become more agile and cut across a road network that can be slow, dangerous and busy with traffic.
Through a series of workshops, the Future Flight Challenge winners have collected the views and experiences of frontline staff and senior managers to envision how drone technology could tackle some of the pressures healthcare staff face every day.
The organisations will use this information to build a business case and roadmap for consideration by the Welsh government at the end of the year.
Welsh health minister Andrew Stephenson said: “Technology has huge potential to transform the NHS for patients, but it can also help automate processes behind the scenes too.
“These projects will help future-proof our medical supply chains by using drones to deliver medical products, reducing the chances of supply disruption while saving costs, energy and resources.
“If successful, they could be rolled out across the NHS to boost resilience and help people live more independent lives, building on the government’s long-term ambitions.”
Future Flight Challenge deputy director Simon Masters added: “The Future Flight Challenge is committed to leading a revolution in aviation, delivering technology solutions with economic and societal benefits.
“This partnership between the drone industry and the medical sector highlights the value that drones can bring to our front-line public services.
“We are excited to be working with these new projects and exploring how new types of vehicles can be applied to NHS supply chain challenges.”
