The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) has just announced bold plans to rollout its robotic surgery programme across Royal Stoke Hospital. This project is an important step to reaffirming the hospital’s position as the UK’s largest robotic surgery center. This new initiative focuses on helping save at least 3,000 bed days annually. Conservative estimates indicate that by expanding the program we could increase this number to over 5,000 bed days per year.
Next week, the Royal Stoke Hospital is poised to do just that. It would become the first campus in the UK to adopt cutting-edge technology that allows surgeons to detect tissue resistance in real time while performing operations. The NHS is undertaking a groundbreaking new strategy to improve surgical care. This technology leap forward is in line with their overall plan to move toward 500,000 ops annually by 2035. Just this year, an estimated 70,000 surgeries have already benefitted from using this approach.
The expansion is part of UHNM and University hospitals’ joint vision to become a national centre of excellence for robotic surgery. That’s why we’re so delighted that the Royal Stoke Hospital has recently announced … It has recently become the first hospital in England to adopt the cutting-edge “Magic Leap” surgical system. Surgeons use specially designed mixed reality goggles, allowing them to see highly detailed 3D images of a patient’s spine and surrounding anatomy. This sophisticated system makes them more accurate when performing operations.
Philip Varghese, consultant colorectal surgeon at UHNM, said the expansion had a fantastic impact on their ability to deliver robotic surgery. That gives them the capacity to manage a wider range of complicated operations.
The launch of robotic-assisted surgery means more than 1,000 patients a year will benefit. It will unlock the possibility of performing the most complicated of operations, from trauma to cardiac surgery. The NHS estimates that in the next 10 years, 90% of all keyhole surgeries will be performed with the help of robots. Robotic-assisted surgery is quickly becoming the default method for many procedures.
Besides improving the patient experience, this investment will improve efficiency by reducing strain on hospital capacity. Coates stressed his foundation’s commitment to funding projects that will leave long-term, trackable change within municipalities. These recent developments have been indispensable in the fight to bring quality healthcare to our communities.
“This investment will allow more patients across the region to benefit from world-leading surgical care closer to home,” Coates added.
Royal Stoke Hospital building as seen from the top of the hill, with the eye-catching red and yellow cladding clearly visible on the lower floors. This cutting-edge facility will soon help change the way surgery is done across the UK. The continuity pledge demonstrated by UHNM to robotic surgery shows healthcare delivery is going through a paradigm shift of embracing advanced technologies.