The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) is starting a really inspiring project. Their ambitions, they told us, included turning the Royal Stoke Hospital into a centre of excellence for robotic surgery. This program is an important step toward maximizing surgical capabilities and improving patient care through advanced robotics technology. With this expansion, the hospital looks to realize 4,000–5,000 saved bed days annually. This is a large step up from the 3,000 bed day annual savings currently.
The Royal Stoke Hospital will soon join the annals of history as the first facility in the UK to use a pioneering technology. Through this innovation, surgeons will be able to detect tissue resistance in real time during surgeries. This exciting advancement will dramatically increase the quality and accuracy of surgeries conducted at the hospital.
Royal Stoke Hospital shot to national prominence in October. It’s recently been making news as the first hospital in England to use the new “Magic Leap” surgical system! Surgeons will be able to use advanced technology to view color-coded, high-definition three-dimensional images of a patient’s spine. With specially designed virtual reality goggles, they’re able to improve their skills to perform complex procedures.
Philip Varghese, a consultant colorectal surgeon at UHNM, expressed optimism about the project, emphasizing its potential impact on patient outcomes.
“This expansion significantly strengthens our ability to deliver robotic surgery across a wider range of complex procedures.” – Philip Varghese, consultant colorectal surgeon at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM).
The UHNM project is expected to benefit more than 1,000 patients per year. It’s particularly targeted at high-involvement procedures such as emergency and cardiovascular surgeries. By 2035, the NHS expects UHNM’s trailblazing model to help enable around 500,000 additional operations across England each year. Just in 2023-24 robotic surgery is projected to help with 70,000 procedures in the trust.
UHNM is taking an exciting leap forward to modernize surgical practices. Not surprisingly, they’re betting on robotic assistance being part of 90% of all keyhole surgeries in a decade’s time. The use of robotic surgery has been promoted by the trust as the new standard of care for elective procedures from now on.
At a recent convening, Denise Coates, a program officer at the foundation funding this local-to-national work, underscored the far-reaching effects for local communities.
“Supporting projects that make a lasting difference to local communities remains a core focus of the foundation.” – Denise Coates.
She explained that with this investment, they would be able to expand access to world-class surgical care, closer to home. This way, more patients throughout the region would receive these services.
The scale of the project has required collaboration among a massive range of specialties, including UHNM’s surgeons and medical staff. Innovation and excellence are reflected in Royal Stoke Hospital’s red and yellow spire, which has become a symbol of the city’s focus on delivering the best healthcare possible.