A NEW state-of-the-art £2m Da Vinci robot has been installed at the Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre at Clatterbridge Hospital.
The new robot will be used in a range of elective surgical planned procedures including cancer with the aim of reducing waiting times, allowing more patients to be treated, including those with cancer.
This is the second Da Vinci Robot at Wirral University Teaching Hospital. The first one was installed at Arrowe Park Hospital ten years ago.
Funded through Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, the robot uses advanced technology to enable surgeons to operate with greater accuracy resulting in better outcomes and most importantly faster recovery times for patients with most patients able to go home the very next day.
Hayley Crawford, Urology and Robotic Specialist Lead, said: "The second robot will enable us to operate on more patients and they will be seen sooner. For the theatre team, this is a really exciting development."
Robotic surgery involves tiny incisions into the body through which miniature-sized instruments are inserted. Fully under the control of the surgeon at all times the robot exhibits impressive dexterity with its precision, even being capable of peeling the skin off a grape.
Mr Manal Kumar, Urology Surgeon at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, said: "This robot will increase the capacity available. We installed the first robot at Arrowe Park Hospital over ten years ago. Since then, a lot of our cancer patients have been operated on robotically. The demand for this service has increased tremendously.
"Because there is now access to two robots this will reduce waiting times for patients and enable more surgeons to be trained in robotic surgery at the centre."
Wirral University Teaching Hospital say they are dedicated to offering the highest standards of patient care and continues to invest in the latest surgical technologies to better serve the needs of its community.
Janelle Holmes, Chief Executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, added: "It’s a fantastic addition to our services at the hospital which will benefit the patients on the Wirral and across Cheshire and Merseyside.
"We are continuing to make lots of progress in treating patients more quickly through the investments we have made in state-of-the-art operating theatres, additional staff and new technology like the robot."
New theatres to open later this year
Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre opened at Clatterbridge Hospital in November 2022 with two new theatres and aims to tackle the backlog of people waiting for elective surgery due to COVID-19.
A further two theatres will open in late 2023 as part of phase two of the project. Once phase two is completed, over 6,000 more patients will be treated at the centre each year from across the Cheshire and Merseyside region and patients will benefit by getting quicker access to their planned operations and through the use of the latest technology.
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