SCOTLAND’S largest health board is planning to use drones and driverless cars to ferry medical supplies across the region.

NHS Highland is looking to hire a private drone operator to pick up and drop off supplies from GP’s surgeries, hospitals and care homes across the area, which covers nearly half of Scotland’s land mass.

The board is also exploring whether drones could be used to fly supplies onto the 36 inhabited islands in its area in a move the board has hailed as “exciting and unparalleled".

NHS Highland is the largest in Scotland and covers an area of 32,500 km2 and is equivalent to 41% of Scotland’s land mass.

But despite the size, it only has a population of 321,000 who are served by 10,000 NHS staff, 100 GP practices and 25 hospitals which stretch from Campbeltown Hospital in the south, to Dunbar Hospital, Thurso, in the far North.

The area is also often blighted by poor weather and the Board is now tendering for a partnership with an aerial drone operator to improve the reliability of getting urgent supplies across the area.

The document states: "We envisage that in the future that drones and unmanned vehicles could form a key part of our logistics service and add resilience into our supply chains.

"They could be used to transport goods and supplies across the region, delivering and picking up items from sites including, but not limited to, GP surgeries, hospitals and care homes.

"We need a service that can deal with the worst aspects of the weather and our mountainous terrain but still be resilient and reliable. A service that is safe and secure is of paramount importance as is the ability to demonstrate that a cost-effective and sustainable service can be achieved.

"We have an appetite to try something new and we’re excited by the possibilities a service development such as this could bring for staff and patients across the Highlands.

"It is our belief that the opportunity for development and testing a commercial drone service in the UK with public sector partners is unparalleled.

Work is already being carried out across various national agencies to clear the way for organisations to identify and invest in drone technology, including the NHS which is increasingly using high-tech alternatives to traditional roles.

A fleet of futuristic robot porters are roaming the corridors of the flagship Queen Elizabeth University in Glasgow.

The robots – known as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) – will use a network of underground tunnels and a dedicated lift to navigate the 14-storey hospital.

The battery-powered NHS porters queue at a variety of designated spots around the hospital as they wait for staff to call them into action.

They are able to collect a wide range of cargo including kitchen materials, linen and medical supplies dispensed from specially-designed loading bays.

The robots are also able to call themselves a lift which allows them to deliver the goods to the correct floor.

But NHS Highland would become the first in Scotland to use drones although there have been a number of trials of the technology proposed across parts of England in the past year.

A UK Government-backed study has proposed introducing drones to ferry blood and medical supplies between London’s main hospitals.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has been working with a global innovation foundation Nesta in its research funded by Innovate UK, the Government agency funding science that will see a drone network connecting 34 London hospitals to deliver life-saving supplies and quicker test results for patients.

Engineers are already exploring how blood and pathology samples could be loaded into NHS branded drones that would fly over London’s congested streets. Nesta hopes to trial the journey between the two Southbank hospitals in their next phase of research.

Other case studies included utilising the pilotless technology to assist the emergency services in the West Midlands, enhance the fire service in Bradford, support regeneration work in Preston, and supply NHS hospitals around the Solent.

A BMA spokesman said: “The unique challenges of delivering healthcare across the remote and rural areas that NHS Highland covers no doubt demands innovative solutions.

"However, at a time when our NHS is substantially under resourced, any new ideas such as this absolutely have to be carefully planned, safe, effective and deliver value for money.”

Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said: "Providing healthcare quickly and efficiently in the Highlands and Islands is always going to be a logistical challenge.

"This project seems like a very innovative approach which could harness technology for the benefit of patients and healthcare staff.

"It is, however, important that strict safety restrictions are in place, as we have recently seen the massive disruption that drones can cause.”

A spokesman for NHS Highland said: "NHS Highland, in partnership with HIE and UHI, is looking to explore if drone technology could assist the partnership in the future".

"The Prior Information Notice (PIN) has been issued so that the partnership can have a look at what is currently out there, both in terms of the market and the available technology".