Hospital charity raises £2.3 million for state-of-the-art surgical robot
The Da Vinci robot went live last year - with the RUHX charity now having raised the money to buy it
The charity for the Royal United Hospitals in Bath have raised £2.3 million - to fund a state-of-the-art surgical system, which has already offered benefits to hundreds of patients.
The new Da Vinci surgical robot is improving lives in RUH Bath theatres, having supported more than 400 complex surgical operations across the hospital.
Those at the hospital charity say it's 'saving time, resources, and lives in an instant' - offering benefits such as:
- Improves cancer-specific survival rates
- Removes health inequalities, as it is more suitable for a wider range of patients
- Decreases readmissions with lower risk of complications, pain and infection
- Accelerates recovery times and halves the lengths of stay for some surgeries. Freeing up vital bed spaces sooner
- Preserves a better quality of life, including continence and sexual function.
Rhyannon Boyd, Head of the RUX charity said “We are so incredibly grateful at RUHX to all our fantastic donors that have helped us to raise £2.3 million to help us bring Robotic Surgery to the RUH. We couldn’t have done it without you. Thank You.”
The first ever robotics surgery at RUH Bath was carried out by Colorectal surgeon Dr Marc Bullock in June 2023 and since then the surgical team have recently completed their 100th robotic surgery.
First robotic surgery patient Suzanne said: “I definitely felt less trauma than I would have done had this procedure been carried out the more traditional way. Obviously, I was a bit restricted in terms of movement but there wasn’t really any pain. My recovery has been excellent, I had my operation on the Tuesday morning, and I was back home by Friday evening, just three days later. I couldn’t believe it.”
Colorectal surgeon Dr Marc Bullock commented about the difference that this will make to patients “The robot is transformational for patients at the RUH, and it means that more patients can benefit from minimally invasive surgery.”
You can find out more about RUHX on their website.
Read more: Robotic surgery hailed as 'exciting opportunity' for patients