NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard has announced a new trial that will see chemotherapy delivered by drones.

NHS cancer patients will be the “first in the word” to have the treatment delivered via the technology.

“Delivering chemo by drone is another extraordinary development for cancer patients and shows how the NHS will stop at nothing to ensure people get the treatment they need as promptly as possible – while also cutting costs and carbon emissions,” said Pritchard. “From a smartwatch to manage Parkinson’s to revolutionary prostate treatments and making the most expensive drug in the world available to NHS patients, it has been another amazing year of innovation in the way the health service delivers treatment and care.”

The trial will begin in the next few weeks, starting from the Isle of Wight.

The chemo will be flown from the pharmacy at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust To St Mary’s Hospital.

The lifesaving treatment can be picked up and dropped to patients on the same day.

Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said that he wants England to become a “world leader in cancer care”.

“As the NHS turns 74, innovations like this will help improve patients’ access to lifesaving care while ensuring the NHS is making the best use of the record funding we’re investing to bust the COVID backlogs,” said the health secretary. “Our upcoming 10-Year Cancer Plan will set out a vision for how we will speed up diagnosis, roll-out innovative new treatments and revolutionise cancer services across the country”.

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