CMR Surgical has extended its NHS footprint as Gloucestershire Royal Hospital becomes the latest hospital to adopt its surgical robotic system Versius.
The programme has started with Upper Gastrointestina (upper GI) and will soon be a multi-specialty programme, as surgeons across colorectal surgery are trained on the system.
According to the hospital, Versius will support its commitment to driving high quality care, allowing many more patients to benefit from minimally invasive surgery which results in less pain, shorter hospital stays and shorter recovery times than traditional open surgery.
The upper GI programme has already shown significant value for the hospital as surgeons were able to successfully perform the UK’s first nissen fundoplication – a laparoscopic procedure performed for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease – as well as a hiatus hernia repair with Versius.
Simon Higgs, consultant general and upper GI surgeon at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, said: “It was important for us to bring in Versius to the hospital so that patients having both routine surgeries like cholecystectomies as well as more complex procedures could benefit from the precision and accuracy that robotic surgery brings.
“Upper GI is an extremely busy department and adopting Versius signifies a new era for the specialty as many more patients will receive minimal access surgery and be treated with this high-quality technology.”
The announcement follows a funding boost of US$600m (£425m) for CMR. The Series D financing, secured in June, will enable the company to bring Versius to more hospitals across the UK and existing markets, as well as entering new markets.
Mark Slack, chief medical officer at CMR Surgical, added: “In designing Versius our goal was to provide a versatile and cost-effective surgical robotic system that could transform the field of minimal access surgery – allowing more patients to benefit than currently do.
“This multi-specialty programme with Gloucestershire Royal will do exactly that and we’re delighted to be partnering with them on this exciting new era for the hospital.”
