We carried out 25 gall bladder removal operations across two high-volume Saturday theatre lists, the same amount we’d usually carry out during a whole month.

Our teams worked out of hours across two weekends in July to tackle our waiting list for this type of surgery. The longer patients wait for their surgery, the higher the risk of complications and them needing to go to A&E.

Grandfather Paul Wall (pictured below), 69, was among those operated on. He needed the operation after scans found polyps in his gall bladder which were getting bigger. After waiting a while for his operation, Paul feared it could be delayed due to ongoing strike action at the time.

He said:

I’d had my pre-op assessment but wasn’t given a date for the operation. Then I got a call offering it the next day. I thought ‘right, let’s get this done!'

As I have a heart problem and sleep apnoea, I was first on the list in case of complications and the surgeon spoke to me beforehand. They joked with me which helped put me at ease. The staff all went above and beyond and were so nice. I stayed overnight and it was good to get home on the Sunday. I’m glad it’s all done now.

Paul’s operation took place on 6 July when we had one team working to complete six robotic assisted gall bladder removals, where the surgeon sits at a computer console to control the robot, using small incisions, surgical instruments and a camera, giving more precision and a greater range of movement.

The next theatre list was held on 27 July, where we had three teams working to carry out 19 operations, six of them robotically assisted and 13 laparoscopically, where the surgeon also uses small incisions and a camera to complete the operation, without the assistance of a surgical robot.

Sayed Haschmat Sarwary, a laparoscopic surgeon who has been with our Trust for four years, said:

Our aim was to help clear our backlog, especially for these patients as leaving it too long can lead to complications such as recurrent inflammation, hospital admission and make surgery more challenging.

These high volume theatre lists mean a different way of working and are only possible with team work, not just from the surgical teams, but a range of different colleagues. We need higher numbers of staff to ensure a smooth turnover of each patient, so the next one is ready for surgery as soon as we finish. And it’s not just about working efficiently on the day, we’ve prepared weeks in advance. By the time it comes around, we’re all motivated, and everyone knows exactly what they’re doing.

The operations were carried out at our Elective Surgical Hub at King George Hospital.

Pictured top are member of the Theatre team who carried out some of the operations.