Trust seeks to expand robotic-assisted surgeries

A hospital trust said it was looking to expand its number of robotic-assisted surgeries to become "a key provider" of the procedures in the region.

The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) said it has delivered 1,500 robotic-assisted operations since 2022 for patients with colorectal, urological, head and neck, and gynaecological cancers.

Northampton General began using a robot during surgeries in March 2022 and Kettering General Hospital began carrying out operations with a second robot in August 2025.

UHN is currently in negotiations to acquire a third robot.

Robotic-assisted surgery involves a machine with multiple arms that can guide instruments inside the patient's body using small key-hole incisions and deliver operations with precise movements.

The surgeon uses a console that translates their hand movement to control the surgical instruments, while eyepieces allow magnified 3D views of what each instrument is doing.

The surgeon is in control of the robot, rather than the robot performing the surgery on its own.

Jamil Ahmed, UHN's robotic surgery lead, said: "Our ambition is to become a key provider of robotic-assisted surgery in the region and to lead the way in providing the kinds of innovative surgery this technology enables."

The trust now has 13 consultants who are fully robotically trained across its sites in various specialities.

In addition, the trust has one surgical care practitioner and more than 10 resident doctors and robotic fellows "who are very competent in assisting robotic cases as bedside assistants", said Ahmed.

According to the trust, patients who have had robotic-assisted surgery have highlighted how operation wounds were smaller and healed faster

Ahmed said: "We are aiming to further expand robotic services into complex abdominal wall reconstruction, complex endometriosis, complex upper GI and pelvic floor problems, along with selected emergency surgeries and we will need to acquire a third robot in the future to offer these procedures."

Hemant Nemade, UHN's medical director, said: "Our ambition is to become a key provider of robotic-assisted surgery in the region and to lead the way in providing the kinds of innovative surgery this technology enables."

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