Hundreds in Hereford set to benefit from new surgical robot

More than 200 people are set to benefit from a new £1m surgical robot over the next year, a hospital trust says.

The system at Hereford's County hospital responds to a surgeon's hand movements and moves instruments while performing an operation.

It was "significantly reducing" cancer patients' time in hospital and procedures were quicker, the Wye Valley NHS Trust said.

Gynaecology and urology were among areas to use the technology.

The robot, which was funded by NHS England, was involved in "minimally invasive surgery", the trust said.

It "provides a range of benefits" which include more precise surgery, reduced pain after operations and a quicker recovery for patients.

The system was operated by surgeons in the operating theatre while they sat at a console next to the patient and controlled the robotic arms.

Small instruments "move like a human hand but with a greater range of motion", the trust stated.

Urological and robotic consultant surgeon Mehmood Akhtar said the technology had increased their theatre capacity.

Patients who previously would have been in hospital for five days for urology surgery "are now able to return home after one night", he added.

The consultant said: "We are initially using the robot for cancer surgery across a number of specialities, and we plan to expand this further to benefit more patients."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk