LOGISTICS


deliveries between hospital laboratories within the area it serves. Currently flights operate between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday, but SWLP wants to expand beyond those hours, to add further flexibility to the service.


Local benefits Pathology samples being processed in the SWLP Hub laboratory at St George’s Hospital.


be so congested and the drones proved it could be done quicker, cheaper and in a greener way. That allowed us to get buy-in from the trust so we could pilot it. The current pilot has provided proof of concept, and going forward drones will be a part of our transport network. We’ve recently had approval to extend the pilot by another six months and we’re working to add further sites, as well as expanding the timetables to weekends and overnight.”


Service information The Wing drone is primarily made of foam, weighs around 5kg, carries packages of around 1kg, and will cruise at about 100 km/h. The drone has been flown on three continents with over a million commercial deliveries and thousands more test and simulation flights. Having been used for routine deliveries in the heat of Australia, the cold of Finland, and the rain of Ireland, the drones can tolerate significant rain and wind, and are able to operate in all but the very worst conditions. For SWLP’s pilot service, they are based in an unused car park at St George’s Hospital, with cordoned-off areas for take- off/landing and charging, and a separate area where the drone lowers its payload to a waiting member of pathology staff, who takes the package to the laboratory. Up to 12 samples can be carried in


special containers. These are atached and removed to a lowered bungee cord whilst the drone is in flight; hovering at a height of around six metres. The payload is then raised and secured safely underneath the drone for the flight. The drones fly at a


50 WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM October 2026


height of approximately 115 metres above ground level, within an airspace corridor approved by the Civil Aviation Authority. The craft are highly automated and operate along pre-programmed routes, with all flights overseen by a certified and trained pilot in command. One restriction is in place though, drones are currently unable to operate when the helicopter air ambulance is arriving or leaving St George’s.


The numbers of urgent samples


requiring transport to St George’s on an ad hoc basis (outside of scheduled transport) can be quite high, the drone service is available to deliver those much more quickly, and are significantly cheaper than road transport in these cases. The NHS is responsible for 4% of the


country’s carbon footprint, so the electric drones can also help to lower emissions and improve air quality for Londoners, as they produce 98% less CO2


per delivery


compared to delivery vans. For the future expansion of the service,


SWLP is aiming to add further community healthcare sites, as well as facilitating


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, commented: “The drones are 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 atack 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.” The startup, which was co-founded


by NHS doctors, is partnering with the global drone operator Wing to roll out this technology. Wing is an Alphabet company that has now completed well over one


Drones help us move samples faster,


cheaper and greener, and are now a core consideration of our logistics plans Simon Brewer, Managing Director of SWLP


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