FOI 25-006 AED Drones

Freedom of Information Request

Reference

FOI 25-006 AED Drones

Request Date

05 Jan 2025

Response Date

31 Jan 2025

Information Requested

Does Scottish Ambulance Service have any plans to develop and introduce AED drones? These drones would be located in densely populated areas and they would be remotely dispatched to assist with cardiac arrest. These drones would contain AEDs and they could also contain other lifesaving kit such as naloxone, oxygen, and EpiPens. This technology will save lives in cases where a drone can reach the patient quicker than a paramedic.

Response

The Scottish Ambulance Service was part of the CAELUS 2 consortium (Care and Equity Logistics Unmanned ariel Systems). This was a public sector, academic and commercial consortium that aimed to develop and trial a national distribution network using drones to transport essential medicines, blood, organs and other medical supplies throughout Scotland. The CAELUS2 project was funded by Innovate UKs Future Flight Challenge. The project started in July 2022 and finished at the end of December 2024.

One potential medical scenario that was modelled during the CAELUS2 project was the theoretical benefits of delivering an automated external defibrillator to patients with an out of hospital cardiac arrest. No other use cases were modelled or simulated.

 

Future plans to develop and introduce drones within Ambulance Services would be informed by the UK's Aviation Regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority. Until a time when there is regulatory framework in place for emergency medical care, there are no immediate plans to introduce drones to real patient care.