VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Health Department is preparing to introduce drones for delivering medicines and blood units to hospitals, aligning with Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s vision to modernise healthcare services.
Officials confirmed discussions are underway with a company already operating similar services in Arunachal Pradesh.
Under a pilot project, Paderu in ASR district will serve as the central hub. From here, drones will deliver supplies to primary, community, and area health centres. The company will provide services free of cost for nine months under a ‘proof of concept’ initiative.
Currently, medicines and blood units are transported from Paderu to distant hospitals by vehicles or staff, which takes considerable time. Officials said drones will ensure faster delivery during emergencies and allow patient samples collected in remote areas to be quickly transported back to Paderu for testing.
Plans include deploying three to four drones from the hub, each capable of covering 60 to 80 kilometres and carrying up to two kilograms of medicines or blood units. Cooling facilities in the drones will safely transport vaccines. After delivering supplies, drones will return with blood, stool, or urine samples for laboratory analysis.
Authorities are also considering using drones to transport medicines from King George Hospital, Vizag, to Paderu.