Frimley Health Trust acquires one of the UK’s first Versius surgical robots

Heatherwood and Wexham Park have become two of the first hospitals in the UK to gain the use of a surgical robot.

Versius, a surgical robot acquired by the Frimley Health Trust, will operate across Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot, Wexham Park Hospital in Slough and Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey.

The robot will perform urology and colorectal surgeries, with one Versius robot capable of carrying out hundreds of operations.

Henry Tilney, consultant colorectal surgeon at Frimley Health, said: “The introduction of Versius at Frimley Health is a major step forward as we seek to maintain our centre as a leader in surgical robotics and make this technology a routine part of clinical practice.

“Our intention is that it will be used to help perform a range of surgical procedures including complex cancer cases – allowing us to offer the benefits of minimal access surgery to our patients, which include faster recovery times and reduced risk of infection.

“Versius now gives us the ability to use this technique for hundreds more patients than has been previously possible and is marking the start of a new, important era in this field.”

It is hoped the robot will help clear the backlog of operations following COVID-19.