Largest robotic surgery training centre opens

Gijs van Boxel work as a consultant surgeon at Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital

The UK's largest robotic-assisted surgery training centre has been opened.

The facility in Winnersh, near Reading, provides training for surgeons from around the world to use the da Vinci surgical system.

The system is operated by a human and uses robot arms to perform delicate and complex operations.

In June, NHS England announced its intention to use robotic assistance in nine out of 10 keyhole surgeries by 2035.

There are more than 200 da Vinci surgical systems being used in hospitals in the UK and Ireland with more than 300,000 patients having being operated on by surgeons using the machines.

"It is referred to as robotic-assisted surgery but it is very much controlled by an experienced, qualified surgeon who manipulates the instruments using a different part of the machine to allow us to do the surgery," said Gijs van Boxel, a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal surgeon in Portsmouth.

The surgeon operates the arms of the machine by sitting at a console and viewing a magnified, high definition, 3D screen, moving the robot arms using finger movements.

"It feels futuristic but the concept of robotic-assisted surgery is not a new one, the development that's gone into this over the various iterations has been extensive, lots of lessons have been learnt."

The da Vinci system is current used in keyhole surgeries and particularly in the treatment of oesophageal and gastric cancers.

"The precision permitted through this system has allowed better outcomes for our patience which is ultimately why we do this," he said.

"Today, we've been training on metabolic surgery. We've got French surgeons visiting from Montpellier.

"We've got people coming from all over Europe to Reading, to Winnersh Triangle, to help them gain proficiency in robotic surgery. So that's a super exciting development and something to be proud of," he added.

The NHS in England also says they expect to see the technology used in increasing numbers of emergency operations.