Bradford Royal Infirmary will become only the second centre in the region to offer robotic surgery to prostate cancer patients from early August. At present, the Da Vinci surgical system is the only robotic system in the world and there are very few surgeons trained in the use of this complex system.

he robotic system is a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery and the benefits for patients include less pain and faster overall recovery times. Bradford Royal Infirmary The Foundation Trust’s new £2million robot – which was partly funded by a generous £200,000 donation from the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust – allows for high precision surgery where the patient is ‘docked’ within the machine and then the operation is carried out using surgical instruments which are mounted on robotic arms and inserted into the patient through tiny incisions. Initially the robot will only be used for urological cancer treatment. Elsewhere the machines are used for other types of surgery, including colorectal, heart and gynaecological operations and there are plans to expand its use to other specialities in Bradford in the future.

There are currently 28 being used in the UK and Bradford, along with Leeds, are the only two centres offering this advanced treatment in the whole of Yorkshire and the North East of England. Consultant urological surgeon, Sanjai Addla, said: “It is a huge responsibility to become the Foundation Trust’s first surgeon to use the new Da Vinci robot but one which I am thoroughly looking forward to. “Bradford has a high rate of late presentation for prostate cancer and this machine will enable the Foundation Trust to be one of the few that can offer the gold standard in treatment to prostate cancer patients.”

Russ Piper, trustee of the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust and chief executive of Sovereign Health Care, added: “Supporting local health related causes is of extreme importance to the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust, particularly within the Bradford area. Not only is this where we are based, but where the majority of our customers come from, and they are the ones who will benefit from this fantastic new offering. “We are thrilled that our donation has been able to help fund such a specialist piece of technology and it is a fine example of the kind of causes we are committed to. It is a real feat for Bradford Royal Infirmary to be one of only a selection of hospitals across the UK with such advanced treatment and we are delighted that we were able to provide some assistance in allowing this to come into fruition.”