In a pioneering move, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has launched the UK’s first robot-assisted day case surgery programme.
The project comes as part of a three-year study to assess the impact of the change on:
- Patient outcomes
- Productivity
- Efficiency
Once the findings are published, PHU clinicians hope their robotics approach can inform a blueprint for wider NHS practice.
Groundbreaking moves
While some hospitals across the NHS have conducted robotic-assisted day case surgery, this signals the first time the UK has seen a dedicated system installed into a day surgery unit – specifically at PHU’s Queen Alexandra Hospital.
The move is expected to enable surgeons to treat a wider range of conditions with robotic-assisted surgery, with the first phase of the programme already converting all existing keyhole surgery in the unit to robotic-assisted surgery.
In fact, local surgeons have already performed more than 400 day case procedures across several specialties using the da Vinci system.
Clinicians are now set to expand the project so it encompasses a proportion of current in-patient robotic procedures, converting them to day cases with a 23-hour hospital stay and remote monitoring.
Robotic surgery has typically been ringfenced for malignant procedures, in turn limiting access to cutting-edge systems for simple or complex benign procedures.
Improving productivity
“We have already proven that robotic-assisted surgery using the da Vinci systems can deliver better outcomes for patients when used in our main hospital theatres for cancer and complex benign procedures,” said Professor Jim Khan, the chief investigator in the study and consultant surgeon at PHU.
He added: “We believe that if we apply the use of this technology to our day surgery practice, robotic-assisted surgery could enable us to treat more patients, across more specialties, whilst providing a valuable resource for safe training of surgeons and theatre staff, as well as improve productivity across the wider hospital.”
Stuart Mercer, study leader as well as clinical director and consultant surgeon at PHU, explained: “We’re delighted to continue to build on the strong foundations of our multi-specialty robotics programme by bringing robotic-assisted surgery using da Vinci technology to the new environment of the Day Surgery Unit.
“This dedicated programme has allowed us to design workforce and workflow around the da Vinci surgical system, so that we can truly explore the impact that this innovative technology can have for patients, hospitals and the NHS if applied in a day case setting.”
Image credit: Intuitive
