16 hours Ago
The county's largest hospital has launched an ambitious bid to put itself at the very forefront of the futuristic robotic surgery industry. The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital is preparing a bid to expand its current robotic surgery department and become an institute of robotic surgery. This would see the hospital become recognised as a leading light in robotics and a key player in developing the technology and training new surgeons.
As part of the bid, the hospital's charity is hoping to raise funds to double the number of robots it has on site. One of the Da Vinci robots at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (Picture: NNUH) Currently, the robotic surgery team has use of two state-of-the-art Da Vinci robots, which carry out a vast range of operations and cost around £1m each. But the hope is that this figure will soon double, increasing surgery capacity and the opportunities for more training opportunities.
During the hospital's April board meeting, directors agreed to lodge a business case for expanding the department and purchasing the two new robots. Currently, the hospital is unable to offer opportunities for surgeons to train to use the equipment, leading to fears that if it does not expand it will struggle to attract and retain high calibre surgeons. Nikki Gray, one of the hospital's non-executive directors, said: "We think this will be big for Norfolk.
" Julie Cooper, head of the N&N Hospitals Charity, said: "The two robots currently in use at the hospital have already demonstrated clear benefits to patients and staff and additional robots would build upon these benefits, extending the advantages of robotic-assisted surgery to more areas of the hospital. "More patients will undergo safer, less invasive procedures with better surgical outcomes, shorter hospital stays and a reduced need for additional support post-surgery. "This will mean hospital and clinical resources will be more accessible, with shorter waiting times for many patients within our community.
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