InnoScot Health’s last webinar of the year will be spotlighting a true ‘Once for Scotland’ initiative which is pioneering the use of drones to deliver vital medical supplies

The NHS Scotland partner believes that its free ‘lunch and learn’ session on Project CAELUS (Care & Equity — Healthcare Logistics UAS Scotland) — funded by Innovate UK and developed by a consortium of 16 partners — will be a fascinating look at the UK's first drone enabled medical logistics network.

The webinar, entitled ‘When innovation takes flight — how Scottish drones consortium is transforming healthcare' will take place on Wednesday 26 November from 12-12.45pm.

It will be led by InnoScot Health’s Innovation Commercialisation Manager Frances Ramsay and will feature a number of insightful guest speakers who have been integral to the project.

Joining the session to discuss how CAELUS has continued to develop successfully through rigorous trials, heralding what has been termed ‘the next era of aviation’, will be:

• National NHS Innovation Programme Lead, NHS Grampian, Karen Bell
• Associate Director, Research and Innovation, Scottish Ambulance Service, Professor Paul Gowens
• Senior Consultant in Transport, Connected Places Catapult, Tom Levermore

The trio will explain the project’s origins and progress to date in building a national drone network that can transport essential medicines, blood, and other medical supplies efficiently, particularly benefitting Scotland’s rural and island communities.

InnoScot Health is delighted to be hosting a session on the standout project and is encouraging NHS Scotland staff who are keen to be inspired by innovative homegrown ideas to learn more.

The webinar will be a great opportunity for attendees to:

• Learn from NHS innovators who are embedded in a project of national significance
• Understand how a large-scale project with many stakeholders can be successfully coordinated
• Discuss how Project CAELUS is expected to develop in future

The InnoScot Health webinar series is open to all, regardless of role or organisation. Sessions are hosted online through Microsoft Teams, with joining instructions provided upon registration.

• Register to attend

Frances said: “Project CAELUS continues to draw great interest, and no wonder — its aim of reaching even the most rural communities in a fraction of the time is a true gamechanger for healthcare, not just in Scotland, but worldwide.

“With its November webinar, InnoScot Health is pleased to introduce a fresh audience to CAELUS, and arguably one of its most important — the NHS workforce which is expected to benefit from it while also looking to its innovative, ambitious example as truly inspirational.

“Indeed, there is a lot to be inspired by with the CAELUS consortium designing drone landing stations for NHS sites across Scotland and developing a virtual model of the proposed delivery network which connects hospitals, pathology laboratories, distribution centres and GP surgeries.

“Not only does CAELUS represent an important step towards enabling the safe use of drones at scale within Scotland’s airspace, it is also a network which can ensure critical medical supplies are delivered more efficiently, reducing waiting times for test results and helping to provide equity of care between urban and remote communities.

“We are grateful to our expert guest speakers for joining us.”

The webinar will be rounded off by an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers. Pre-submit your queries for our panel discussion to [email protected].