Robotics approved for use in NHS surgeries across England
The technology, given the green light by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) under its early value assessment programme, offers a range of applications, from helping remove tumours to replacing a patient's knee.
The rollout is expected to reduce hospital stays, faster recovery times, and a lower risk of complications.
A total of 11 systems have been approved, including five for soft tissue surgeries, such as removing tumours, repairing hernias and removing gallbladders and six for orthopaedics, including knee and hip replacements.
Some allow surgeons to perform operations using mechanical arms controlled from a console, while others are hand-held.
Dr Anastasia Chalkidou, programme director of Nice's HealthTech programme, said: 'These innovative technologies have the potential to transform both soft tissue and orthopaedic surgical care in the NHS.
'Robot-assisted surgery may help overcome key limitations of conventional techniques through precise movements and enhanced 3D visualisation, potentially transforming surgical options and outcomes for NHS patients.
'Both applications could benefit patients who might not otherwise be candidates for minimally invasive approaches.'
Under the guidance, the 11 systems can be used over the coming three years while more evidence is collected.
Among the issues Nice will look at are how the technology affects the length of hospital stays and waiting lists, as well as the resources used for training staff and the costs of implementing the systems.
Each of the systems costs between £500,000 and £1.5 million, according to the NHS spending watchdog, and are usually deployed in specialist centres where hundreds of operations take place each year.
Dr Chalkidou added: 'The data gathered over the next three years will allow us to evaluate exactly how these technologies can improve patient care and help ensure NHS resources are directed toward interventions that deliver meaningful clinical benefits and long-term value to our health service.'
In 2011-12, the majority of robot-assisted procedures were for urological cancer, which can include cancer in the bladder, kidney, prostate and testicles, according to Nice.
By last year, almost half of these operations were for other conditions, with a surge in the use of robotic surgeries for bowel cancer, which now accounts for a quarter of all robot-assisted procedures.
There has also been a jump in the use of the technology in orthopaedics, with 4,000 robot-assisted surgeries taking place last year, up from 300 in 2018-19.
Making greater use of digital technologies in the NHS is one of the three shifts set to be outlined by the Government in its forthcoming 10-year health plan.
It is also expected to focus more on sickness prevention and moving care from hospitals into the community.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director at NHS England, said: 'This is fantastic news for patients and shows that the NHS continues to find new ways to utilise the latest technological innovations to improve care.
'This will be a vital element of the 10-year health plan which will be published in the coming months.
'Robot-assisted surgery is crucial to the future of high-quality healthcare – and with benefits including shorter stays in hospital, faster recovery for patients and less invasive procedures, these advancements will have a knock-on effect throughout the system and help patients get treated quicker.
'This is an important step forward as we continue to work to ensure everyone is able to get high-quality care when they need it.'
Nuha Yassin, a consultant colorectal surgeon and Royal College of Surgeons of England council member, described the Nice guidance as a 'significant step forward'.
'The potential for faster recovery times, reduced complications and increased access to minimally invasive procedures could transform patient care,' she said.
'It remains important that, in introducing these new technologies, NHS trusts and surgical teams ensure they are working within the guidelines set out by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, so that they are implemented in the safest way possible for patients.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Almost one million NHS ‘free passes' handed out to asylum seekers
ALMOST one million NHS 'free passes' have been handed to asylum seekers in five years, stats reveal. Some 920,199 HC2 certificates — granting free prescriptions, dental care, eye tests, wigs and travel to appointments — were issued. That is 59 per cent of all HC2 forms dished out from 2019 to 2024, despite asylum seekers making up less than one per cent of the population. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'No wonder illegal immigrants from across Europe are flocking here.' The certificates include up to £233 for specs and unlimited dental work. Anyone can apply if they have little or no income. Asylum seekers automatically receive one if they qualify for Section 95 support, which covers housing and financial help. An NHS spokesman said: 'The NHS is legally required to provide healthcare services to asylum seekers, including access to help with health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme.' A Government spokesman said most were issued 'under the previous administration'. The figures were uncovered via a Freedom of Information request to the NHS Business Services Authority. 25K migrants have arrived across the Channel so far this year despite Labour's promise to crackdown 1
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Three million on NHS England waiting lists have had no care since GP referral
Almost half of the 6 million people needing treatment from the NHS in England have had no further care at all since joining a hospital waiting list, new data reveals. Previously unseen NHS England figures show that 2.99 million of the 6.23 million patients (48%) awaiting care have not had either their first appointment with a specialist or a diagnostic test since being referred by a GP. The Patients Association described the situation as 'an invisible waiting list crisis' that was 'staggering' in scale, with millions living in limbo, anxious as their health deteriorates. The data raises doubts about Keir Starmer's repeated pledge that 92% of patients will be treated within 18 weeks of referral by 2029 – his key promise to voters on health. The target has not been hit since 2015, and in May just 61% were treated on time. In a further sign of how difficult it will be to meet that target, the data shows that a third of the 3 million unseen patients – 1 million people – have already waited more than 18 weeks without receiving any care. It is the first time the phenomenon of 'unseen patients' has emerged as part of the huge challenge facing the government in its drive to 'get the NHS back on its feet'. Until now debate around the NHS backlog has focused on the number of treatments patients are due to receive and how many are waiting – currently 7.36m and 6.23m respectively. 'If accurate, 3 million people are trapped in an invisible waiting list crisis, stuck without basic diagnostic tests of first appointments while their conditions worsen,' said Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association. 'The scale is staggering, as nearly half of all patients on a waiting list haven't been seen by anyone. That's not a healthcare service; that's a breakdown. 'These aren't just statistics. They're people checking their phones daily for hospital calls that never come, unable to plan their lives while their symptoms deteriorate.' The figures have been collated and analysed by the health data specialist MBI Health, which helps dozens of NHS trusts improve their treatment waiting times. It has shared its findings with the Guardian. Barry Mulholland, the firm's founder and a former NHS manager, said the health service should see the waiting list as 'a frontlog, not a backlog', because so many people had not had their 'first clinical contact' after joining it. In recent years ministers and NHS bosses have made reducing the number of people waiting 12 or 18 months for care their priority. 'There are so many people who have already waited so long without seeing anyone – 3 million unseen patients who haven't had their first contact. 'Unless that's dealt with, you will never achieve that target of seeing and treating patients within 18 weeks. 'From the government's point of view, the pledge to get back to 18 weeks by 2029 will be really hard to accomplish if this huge group of patients isn't seen more quickly.' 'We'll never clear the waiting list if we don't fix the point where patients enter the system, and long delays begin,' he added. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion NHS England acknowledged the vast number of people who had had no NHS care since joining the waiting list. Of the 7.3m treatments patients were waiting for, 4.7m – nearly two-thirds (64%) – were for people who had not had a first consultation with a specialist or a diagnostic test yet. And 1.6m of this 4.7m had already gone beyond the 18-week supposed maximum waiting time for treatment, it added. Alison Bennett, a Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, said: 'These figures are harrowing. Behind every one of these numbers is a person in pain, anxious about their health, and desperately waiting for their first contact from a clinician. 'This isn't a problem that appeared overnight; it's the direct result of the Conservative party mismanaging our NHS for years. It is unacceptable that millions of people are still being left in a state of limbo, while their conditions potentially worsen.' Ministers would only 'fix' the NHS if they overhauled social care to unblock jammed-up hospitals, she added. MBI's analysis also found that the medical specialities with the largest number of unseen patients were ear, nose and throat care, orthopaedics, eye care, gastroenterology and gynaecology. Between 67% and 75% of those waiting lists are made up of such patients, Mulholland added. The Department of Health and Social Care did not comment on the 3 million unseen patients. A spokesperson said only that: 'Thanks to this government's record investment, reforms and the hard work of NHS staff, we've cut the waiting list by over 260,000 since July 2024, which also fell for the first time in 17 years in April and May outside the pandemic. On top of this, we have also delivered 4.6m appointments – more than double the 2m we promised. 'This government is delivering the fundamental reform needed to turn our NHS around, and our 10-year health plan will build on this progress, to ensure we meet our target that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks for treatment by March 2029.'
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
NHS bosses ‘still on the hook' despite nurse Sandie Peggie's ‘racist' remarks, says Anas Sarwar
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NHS bosses are still in the firing line over their trans policy even if a nurse at the centre of a tribunal row did make 'racist' remarks, Anas Sarwar said. The Scottish Labour leader said 'horrific' remarks attributed to nurse Sandie Peggie about ethnic minorities does not detract from public bodies' duty to keep biological males out of female changing rooms. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Nurse Sandie Peggie was accused of making highly racist remarks Credit: Getty 4 She was suspended by NHS Fife for challenging trans Dr Beth Upton (pictured) about using the women's changing room Credit: Alamy 4 Anas Sarwar said Ms Peggie's remarks should not let NHS Fife off the hook Credit: Les Gallagher Ms Peggie has denied claims from two colleagues that she joked about posting bacon through the letterbox of a local mosque, insisting the remark came from a paramedic on the ward. Ms Peggie admitted she had a fear of the mosque being built in Kirkcaldy due to her having concerns about Sharia Law being introduced in the UK. She said did not dislike all Muslims and that her beliefs did not mean she would ever treat patients differently. The nurse, who worked for 30 years with NHS Fife, also said a number of racist jokes in a WhatsApp chat regarding flooding in Pakistan that killed nearly 2,000 people in 2022 was humour, intended to try and shock people. The nurse said she had used derogatory terms to describe people from Pakistan and China because these were common terms when she was growing up. She said people of those ethnicities that she knew were not offended when the terms had been used. MSP Mr Sarwar said: 'Those comments, if they are as attributed, are completely and utterly unacceptable. 'But we have also got to be really careful that we don't distract from the big issues that matter. 'Just because we might find these comments attributed horrific doesn't mean health boards and the Scottish Government should not comply with the Equality Act and protect single sex spaces based on biological sex. 'We can do that while also building a society that is free of prejudice of any kind, including racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, antisemitism and Islamophobia.' NATS health secretary Neil Gray today failed to back nurse Sandie Peggie amid a row over single-sex space
