Colchester Hospital surgical robot used in all colorectal surgeries

All the hospital trust's colorectal surgeons have been trained to use the robot

Fully-robotic surgery is being used for all patients having colorectal procedures, a hospital has said.

All six colorectal surgeons at Colchester Hospital have completed the training, in what managers describe as a first for a hospital in Europe.

Surgeon Subash Vasudevan said patient benefits included shorter hospital stays, less invasive keyhole-like cuts and therefore better outcomes.

More than £10m has been invested in robotic surgery, the NHS trust said.

Surgeon Subash Vasudevan paid tribute to the hundreds of hospital staff who had enabled the roll-out of the high-tech procedures

The hospital, which is part of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, began its multi-specialty robotic surgery programme three years ago.

Hospital managers said it offers a fully-robotic procedure, unlike some other NHS hospitals which are so far using hybrid robotic surgery.

Hybrid surgery involves doing part of the procedure laparoscopically and delegating tasks like firing of staplers and clips on vessels to bedside surgical assistants without the use of robot, removing a degree of surgeon autonomy, they added.

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Colchester Hospital now has four surgeon-controlled Da Vinci Xi robots, which have two parts, one that has several arms with instruments attached and a second that is console operated by the surgeon.

Mr Vasudevan said the high-tech procedures offer benefits for surgeons as well.

"It is less physically demanding during long operations as we're able to sit at the console rather than stand for hours in very uncomfortable positions needed for conventional surgery," he said.

Ipswich Hospital, which is part of the same NHS trust, also deploys the Da Vinci Xi robots and is expected to transition to fully robotic colorectal procedures in the future.