CLINICIANS have showcased a state-of-the-art robotics system, which they are using to carry out surgeries at the Cumberland Infirmary Hospital in Carlisle.
At the bleeding edge of medical technological advancement, the £3million da Vinci Xi robotic-assisted surgical system brings North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) closer to achieving a national target.
Ministers want to see 90 per cent of all key-hole surgery carried out with robotics by 2035.
Chris Rao, Colorectal Consultant and General Surgeon told Newsquest Cumbria that the robotic system makes key hold surgery less physically demanding and puts North Cumbria at the forefront of this emerging technology.
He said: "It's amazing, the operations I do tend to be quite long, when you finish them, you're often physically tired, you feel worn out.
"Whereas, because you're sat down, after long operations you feel fantastic."
Mr Rao said: "The team have really worked hard to get up to speed with the new technology, so that we can do it in a safe and efficient way."
A surgeon operates the robot from a console, looking through an eye piece to see a close-up image of the patient.
Mr Rao believes that the use of robotics is the future of surgery.
He said: "There's a national target that 90 per cent of key-hole operations should be done this way, within the next 10 years and we want to be ahead of the curve here in Cumbria.
"We've got a full robot programme, this is the first robot in Carlisle, hopefully next year we'll get one at West Cumberland Hospital and then another robot at each of the sites so that we'll have four robots across the trust, so that we can be meeting that 90 per cent target."
Mr Rao said that, far from being one of the last to meet the target, North Cumbria wants to be the first.
Utilising the robotics system is helping the NHS trust tackle its waiting list.
Mr Rao said: "It makes a big difference to patients.
"Even compared to normal key-hole surgery, after a big operation, people go home a couple of days earlier, people who need to have open operations with a big cut, they can be done with this key-hole approach and for smaller cases, you can often get through more in a day robotically than a normal key-hole approach."
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