Drone trial to help Isle of Wight receive medical supplies

A new trial is taking place looking into using drones to transport medical supplies across the Solent to the Isle of Wight to support the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The University of Southampton trial, funded by the Department for Transport, is the first of its kind and aims to benefit patients on the Isle of Wight by speeding up the delivery of medical supplies. It will use a UAV drone designed and built by the university for Windracers, to transport medical supplies to St Marys Hospital from the mainland via the Solent Airport.

Solent Transport is advancing part of its four-year drone project, which will look to develop an air traffic management system to oversee the safe movement of both manned and unmanned aircraft in shared airspace.  

Various types of unmanned aircraft will be trialled to see how these could improve the movement of medical supplies between the three hospitals in Hampshire – Southampton General Hospital, Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight. The project intends to increase efficiency, reduce costs and transportation time of medical supplies between NHS locations.  

Jacqui Rayment, Southampton’s cabinet member for Place & Transport and chair of Solent Transport Joint Committee, said: “We are very excited to support this ground-breaking trial of aerial drone delivery of medical supplies, which will help improve access to healthcare and save lives.”

Ian Ward, cabinet member for Transport at Isle of Wight, said: “I am delighted that the Solent Transport, partners of which we are one, have worked together DfT and the University, at such speed to make this something that can support Island, its community and most importantly the NHS in these difficult times.”