Sir David Sloman, Chief Operating Officer at NHS England, paid a visit to our Elective Surgical Hub where he unveiled the country’s first robotic colonoscopy machine.

                                     

Robotic colonoscopy is a procedure that uses disposable probes to travel through the colon and King George Hospital is the first in the country to offer this service.

Patients will benefit from a painless and non-invasive procedure compared to a traditional colonoscopy and will not require any sedation meaning faster recovery.

Prem Premchand, Consultant Gastroenterologist, said: “This is the safest colonoscopy so far, that we know of, which has great benefits to our patients and clinicians.”

Matthew Trainer, Chief Executive described it as a ‘genuine service transformation which has significant and beneficial implications for endoscopy services.”

As part of his tour, Sir David also visited our Urology department where he was introduced to our new kidney stone machine, which can see up to five times more patients in a week, and was shown the site where two new theatres are being built as part of our surgical hub expansion.

Sir David Sloman said: “The Trust is doing some brilliantly innovative things. It was a pleasure to visit a unit that is clinically led, patient centred and driven by a leadership community that is absolutely focused on improving things for patients and staff alike.”

The launch of new machines and our expansion are some examples of the work the Trust is doing to reduce waiting lists and give patients the treatment and care they need.