Home / Opportunities / Opportunity
PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Use of Drones for delivery of Aseptic Pharmacy Medication - Trial

United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 05:05.

Opportunity overview

United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has an interest in the potential use and benefits of drone delivery for aseptic pharmacy drugs, in support of chemotherapy treatment, particularly for short notice delivery requirements. The Trust is keen to review the market for advances in the field and innovative solutions that support: - Drone delivery of aseptic pharmacy drugs from Aseptic unit in Lincoln to acute care sites across the County. - Potential ability for drones to reach distances of up to 45 miles. - Potential to fund a pilot scheme with the Authority. The Trust initially intends to undertake a trial to assess the feasibility of using drone technology in Lincolnshire to transport aseptic pharmacy drugs, augmenting existing road transportation, and to have the ability for short notice delivery of ready to administer drugs. The Aseptic unit currently supports our 4 main hospitals, with 2 peripheral sites. From the trial the Trust needs to understand if delivery between two locations is possible and ideally explore the plausibility of wider deliveries to the other sites. The measure would be effectiveness/cost versus the continued use of third-party transportation via the road network (for those drugs currently delivered by this method). Through this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice, the Trust would like to understand: - The level of interest in the market from suppliers who may be interested in working with the Trust on a trial. - What solutions are currently available and / or available soon that the market can offer. - Airspace controls and restrictions that may impact drone flights. - Real-time tracking, reporting or analytics that are available. - How the integrity of payloads is maintained including but not limited to temperature control and security - Commercial operating models for both a trial and any longer-term contract that the Trust may procure should any trial prove to be successful.

Classification

  • CPV60000000 — Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
C371124
Status
planning
Main Procurement Category
services

Amendments

Entry 1
Id
035591-2025
Description
Including link to the tendering portal which was omitted on the original notice

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Communication

Future Notice Date
15 Sept 2025, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Suitability

Sme
Yes

Contract period

Ends
30 Oct 2026, 23:59
Starts
1 Nov 2025, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKF30
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
UKF30
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
60000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
035168-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
25 Jun 2025, 15:55
Entry 2
Id
035591-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
27 Jun 2025, 09:26

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
25 Jul 2025, 23:59
Description
The purpose of publishing the Preliminary Market Engagement Notice for Drone Delivery Service for Aseptic Pharmacy Medication – Trial is to engage with the supply market to assess the level of interest and for United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to engage with the market to understand solutions and commercial models available. For clarity, this is not a call for competition and no contract(s) will be awarded to any supplier as a result of participating in this exercise. Suppliers who express an interest are also asked to complete the preliminary market engagement questionnaire published alongside this notice in the Atamis tendering portal. Please complete and submit your completed preliminary market engagement questionnaire via the portal no later than 25th July 2025 at 12pm. The purpose of publishing the Preliminary Market Engagement Notice for Drone Delivery Service for Aseptic Pharmacy Medication – Trial is to engage with the supply market to assess the level of interest and for United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to engage with the market to understand solutions and commercial models available. For clarity, this is not a call for competition and no contract(s) will be awarded to any supplier as a result of participating in this exercise. Suppliers who express an interest are also asked to complete the preliminary market engagement questionnaire published alongside this notice in the Atamis tendering portal. Please complete and submit your completed preliminary market engagement questionnaire via the portal no later than 25th July 2025 at 12pm. Suppliers can register an interest and access the questionnaire via the following link https://atamis-1928.my.salesforce-sites.com/ProSpend__CS_ContractPage?SearchType=Projects&uid=a07Sr00000YrzbaIAB&searchStr=drone&sortStr=Recently+Published&page=1&filters=&County= The Trust may seek clarifications on Supplier submissions or engage in further market engagement relating which may include additional questionnaires or face to face meetings. The Trust may seek clarifications on Supplier submissions or engage in further market engagement relating which may include additional questionnaires or face to face meetings.

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PTYN-5349-TLTT
Name
United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKF30
Country
GB
Locality
Lincoln
Postal Code
LN2 5QY
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Lincoln County Hospital, Greetwell Road

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - central government

Identifier

Id
PTYN-5349-TLTT
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Lincoln · UKF30 · LN2 5QY · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKF30 · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-05539d-2025-06-27T09:26:16+01:00Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·