NHS drones to fly over Kensington Palace and Hyde Park
Plans for autonomous flights between 12 hospitals in the capital have been submitted to the airspace regulator in what could lead to a city-wide drone network.
The proposals would allow flights over large swathes of London, ranging from Wimbledon in South West London to Chadwell Heath in East London.
The NHS is hoping that drone flights can cut costs and lead to much faster test results. It has been trialling the technology to deliver samples between the roofs of Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals south of the Thames, a distance of just under one and a half miles.
Apian, the medical logistics company behind the trials, has already delivered 5,000 blood samples and recently secured permission to expand flights between the hospitals from 10 a day to 40.
It is now seeking to expand the system with new 'air highways' linking other hospitals.
One would link hospitals including Charing Cross, Great Ormond Street, University College Hospital and the Royal Free over central and north London.
Another would cover Queen Mary's Hospital, St George's Hospital and the Nelson Health Centre around Wimbledon, Tooting and Putney, with a third zone in East London linking King George Hospital, Queen's Hospital and Barking Hospital.
If approved, the plans would make the autonomous vehicles a frequent sight over central London.
Apian, which uses drones made by Google's Wing unit, started the flights between Guy's and St Thomas' in November, allowing blood samples from the former to be quickly analysed at St Thomas' laboratory.
Previously, samples had been couriered by motorcycle, which the companies said added to congestion and took half an hour on average, compared to a two minute flight between the hospitals by drone. Apian claims the drones are also 40pc cheaper.
Apian was founded by two NHS doctors, Christopher Law and Hammad Jeilani, as well as Alexander Trewby, an entrepreneur who sold his security company to Google.
The company has also carried out trials in Northumberland and The Solent.
It recently unveiled a tie-up with Silicon Valley drone company Matternet and is developing autonomous ground robots, which could collect samples from the drone on a hospital roof and deliver them to the lab.
The innovation agency Nesta has proposed a city-wide drone network of 34 hospitals across the capital.
Civil Aviation Authority rules require airspace to be closed off to other vehicles when autonomous drones are flying, although the regulator is supporting a series of trials designed to allow drones to share the sky with other aircraft.
Amazon is developing plans to launch household drone deliveries in Darlington later this year.
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