Apian and Wing Drones Now Delivering NHS Pathology Samples in Southwest London
Drones have become a regular part of logistics for South West London Pathology (SWLP), transporting urgent samples between healthcare facilities in the region.
Since February 2026, drones operated in partnership with Apian have been picking up pathology samples from the Nelson Health Centre in Raynes Park and delivering them to the SWLP laboratory at St George’s Hospital in Tooting. The flight time is just over three minutes, compared to significantly longer road journeys, particularly during periods of heavy traffic or extreme weather.
Apian is partnering with Wing, an Alphabet company with extensive commercial drone delivery experience, to scale the technology.
SWLP serves a patient population of 1.8 million people and processes 51 million samples annually for NHS trusts and GP services in southwest London. The organization is working with Apian to expand drone routes to additional hospitals including St Helier, Croydon, and Kingston, as well as more primary care sites.
Simon Brewer, Managing Director of SWLP, stated that while the pathology network is investing in automation and digitization, logistics remain a bottleneck. Drones provide faster, cheaper, and lower-emission transport for urgent samples. Over 2,000 patients have already benefited from deliveries up to 85% faster than ground logistics.
The electric drones produce 98% less CO2 per delivery compared to vans and are up to 23% cheaper than urgent couriers on some routes. The service is expected to reduce reliance on traditional vehicles across the network. Kate Slemeck, Managing Director at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the technology is helping provide faster and greener care while maintaining patient safety.
The Nelson Health Centre, serving 27,000 patients, is the first NHS primary care facility in the UK to routinely use drones for sample collection. Andy Christodoulou from Community Health Partnerships described the drones as reliable and unintrusive.
Dr Sabena Mughal, NHS paediatric consultant and Director of Healthcare Partnerships at Apian, noted that drone delivery has become an essential part of healthcare logistics. The company, co-founded by NHS doctors, has delivered thousands of samples across London, supporting time-critical decisions in areas such as heart attacks and paediatric diagnoses. SWLP and Apian plan to expand the drone network further across southwest London in the future.
