Caroline Burt, consultant colorectal surgeon, Southmead Hospital, Bristol. She heads up one of the most innovative medical robotics programs with an aim to utilize robotic arms to perform surgeries. This cutting-edge technology recently achieved an incredible feat, with operators having recently performed their 10,000th procedure using robotic assistance. Technological achievements in robotic surgery greatly improve a surgeon’s precision. They are engaged in efforts to lower patient wait times throughout the NHS.
Burt has referred to the robotic arms as “incredibly dextrous and accurate,” enabling greater precision during surgeries. She insists that these systems provide incredible flexibility. This characteristic offers surgeons enhanced versatility of their method. This ability allows her to sew “a lot more effortlessly,” making Mack’s time in the operating room more efficient.
Even with the cutting-edge tech involved, Burt wants patients to know that the human touch is still key to the surgical experience. “It’s 100% the surgeon doing the operation. Nothing moves without the main surgeon moving and dissecting, so there’s no automatic movements in it at all,” she explained. This major assertion highlights the need for talented human surgeons in addition to robotic platforms.
Burt is one of the passionate advocates behind a dedicated team at Southmead Hospital. They use robotic technology to perform a handful of different surgical procedures including hysterectomies and bladder surgeries. Now she’s working with NHS England to roll out this technology on a much bigger scale. Their mission is to make possible 500,000 procedures in the next 10 years. Highlighting the importance of this effort, it is a key step in addressing the NHS’s chronic challenge of long patient waiting times. The hope is to register meaningful gains by 2029.
As far as patients like surgical patient Lisa Brittain, the new robotic surgery technology couldn’t come fast enough. Some even liken the robotic equipment to R2-D2 before their procedures! Burt agrees that these positive feelings are indicative of a larger trend toward awareness and acceptance of robotic assistance in surgery.
When robotic technology is integrated into surgical practices, procedural efficiency immediately increases. It has a huge impact on patient safety. Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement, highlighted these advantages, stating, “Not only does it speed up the number of procedures the NHS can do, but it means better outcomes, a faster recovery and shorter hospital stays for patients.”
With amazing dedication, Southmead Hospital was setting the mark in surgical innovation. With bright ideas and unbounded optimism, Caroline Burt and her squad are transforming patient care for the next century and beyond. Innovative surgeons and cutting-edge robotics are teaming up to change the face of surgery. Together these two initiatives will help improve recovery journeys for thousands more patients all around the country.