The NHS is planning to step up robotic surgery over the next decade to reduce waiting time, help in the speed of recovery of patients, and shorter hospital stay.
As per the NHS projections, the number is expected to zoom from 70,000 in 2023/24 to half a million by 2035.
NHS officials claim that by 2035 9 in 10 of all keyhole surgeries, such as the removal of certain organs affected by cancer, will be delivered with robot assistance, up from 1 in 5 today.
Robotic surgery allows greater dexterity than traditional keyhole surgeries, and it is easier to manipulate as the instruments are controlled by a surgeon at a console using a 3D camera.
The NHS also expects to see increasing numbers of emergency operations using the space-age tech – which can be more precise than the human hand.
Patients undergoing robotic surgery are able to recover quicker and be discharged sooner.
In some cases the hospital stay is cut by nearly half when compared with those undergoing traditional surgery.
The new NHS England forecast follows the publication of its first ever national guidance on robotic programmes.
In recent years, the range of operations involving robots has widened – in 2011/12 urological cancer surgery made up 80 per cent.
But by 2023/24 its proportion dropped to 44 per cent even though the number of operations had increased.
There has been a significant growth in areas such as colorectal, gynaecology, ear, nose and throat, and orthopaedic procedures.
Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting, a cancer survivor, said: “Innovative treatments and technologies that help fast track better outcomes for patients is how we transform our NHS and make it fit for the future.
"I know myself how important this is, when the NHS saved my life from kidney cancer with an operation led by a world-class surgeon being helped by a robot."
Sir Jim Mackey, NHS Chief Executive, said, “The NHS has pledged to return to shorter elective waiting times by 2029 and we are using every tool at our disposal to ensure patients get the best possible treatment."
John McGrath, chair of the NHS England Steering Committee for Robotic Assisted Surgery, said, “Faster recovery and shorter hospital stays are not only hugely important benefits for patients undergoing surgery, if used efficiently they can have a positive impact on the rest of the system by relieving pressure on services and therefore helping to reduce waiting times."
