NHS laboratory specimens have been delivered over the Firth of Clyde by drone for the first time.

Project CAELUS is continuing to break new ground for Scotland with drones flying laboratory samples from University Hospital Crosshouse to the the War Memorial on the Isle of Arran.

AGS Airports led the three-week trial in collaboration, with 15 other consortium partners.

Work continues on the project, which uses drones to rapidly transport medical supplies and diagnostic samples between mainland hospitals and remote or rural areas.

This innovation can reduce delivery times for critical healthcare materials from several hours to just 30 minutes.

The trial aims to address logistical challenges faced by remote communities such as those on Arran, where diagnostic samples must currently be transported by road and ferry to mainland hospitals, a process that can take up to five hours. Using drones can shorten this to 30 minutes.

During the trial, use-cases, designed by NHS Scotland, were tested, including simulating blood products being transferred by drone to a patient in urgent need of a medical attention.

Karen Bell, National NHS Programme Lead for CAELUS said: "NHS Grampian is pleased to be working with NHS Ayrshire and Arran and the West of Scotland Innovation Hub to further understand the benefits this technology could bring to healthcare delivery in island Communities."

Consultant Clinical Scientist Janet Hogg, from the department of biochemistry in NHS Ayrshire & Arran, added, “Exploring how drone technology could be usefully used as a way of delivering care to people who live in urban, remote, rural and island locations, is edging ever-closer to a reality.

“Here in Ayrshire and Arran we are well positioned to participate in this drone trial because of our vast geographical area of island and remote populations.  This work has the potential to greatly enhance patient experience.”

In the latest live flight trials, tests were also carried out on how NHS staff would engage with the drone both physically and digitally in the future.