Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Montrose drone port to begin trials with NHS to transport medical equipment

Skyport flight operations manager Alastair Skitmore places the medicine box in the drone.
Skyport flight operations manager Alastair Skitmore places the medicine box in the drone.

Scotland’s first drone port in Montrose will begin working with the NHS to transport medicines and equipment next month.

Mercury Drone Ports at Broomfield Park will start trials on beyond visual line of sight drone flights in March.

The first flights will transport medical equipment, samples and medicine to and from multiple healthcare facilities between Angus and Dundee, assisting with the response to Covid-19.

Mercury Drone Ports will provide a trials airspace area to support drone companies and conduct onshore and offshore drone flight trials.

Receiving funding from the UK Government’s £26.5 million Angus Fund as part of the Tay Cities Region Deal, Mercury Drone Ports is a public-private partnership between Angus Council and DTLX, supported by a number of local and national businesses.

It aims to establish Angus as a centre of excellence for the development of drone technologies in Scotland.

Montrose drone port to aid NHS

Angus Council leader David Fairweather said the council can play its part in transforming the health system in Angus through the project.

“This level of improvement could potentially allow life-saving treatment to be able to commence earlier.”

A beyond visual line of sight drone operates out of sight of the pilot, unlike most drone flights.

Mr Fairweather said it could help to reduce testing times, speeding up diagnoses for patients, all at a reduced cost to the NHS.

It would, he said, reduce the reliance on expensive taxi transportation that currently exists.

The council leader added: “As significant demands continue for Covid-19 testing, we are delighted to lead the way through innovative technologies to increase connectivity with our rural facilities, at a time the NHS requires greater support.”

The new environmentally friendly and efficient mode of transportation will provide the NHS with an on-demand collection and delivery service.

It will allow samples to be collected from local medical practices for analysis at larger hospitals quicker and more reliably than current transport alternatives.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart places the medicine box in the drone as Angus Council chief executive Margo Williamson, councillor Mark Salmond, DTLX director Richard Stark and DronePrep chief executive Gareth Whatmore watches.

NHS Tayside clinical laboratory manager Chris Hind said the project ensures a service that can be used for Covid-19 testing as well as other samples.

“This project will benefit our understanding of future opportunities to develop and improve our supply chain and help resilience in response to challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

“We believe drone delivery services will help to improve diagnostic sample transport times across Angus rural areas, helping NHS Tayside to provide an equitable level of healthcare across Angus.”

Putting Angus at the forefront of innovation

Mercury Drone Ports will be based within Zero Four, a partnership between Angus Council and Crown Estate Scotland.

Daniel Salamanca carries the drone to it’s launch pad at Broomfield park.

At the forefront of developing the drone port stands company DTLX, founded by a trio of Angus businessmen.

The new hub along with the drone port, forms part of Angus Council’s long-term plans to drive sustainable development across the Tay Cities region.

Scotland Office minister Iain Stewart said: “The UK Government is investing in Scotland’s first drone port to put Scotland at the forefront of innovation while bringing new jobs and investment to Angus.

Alastair Skitmore from Skyports gave UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart a close look.

“Drones have huge potential in Scotland, from connecting health services to remote communities, to helping maintain renewable energy installations, to assisting with Scottish aquaculture and environmental monitoring.”

The £26.5m Angus Fund will stimulate the Mercury Programme, which is Angus Council’s £1 billion partnership programme between government, public, private and community sectors.

Projects to be funded are being developed collaboratively with Angus Council and other local partners and are subject to UK Government approval.