Robot at Colchester Hospital helps woman go home just hours after procedure

A Clacton mum-of-three was able to return home within hours of major surgery carried out by a robot at Colchester Hospital.

Ceri Fishlock praised the care and treatment she received, especially the benefits of robotic surgery and the advantage of returning home on the same day as her operation.

Ceri said: "It’s been great for me – both having the surgery done robotically and coming home the same day. I would recommend it to people.

"No one was pushy in saying I had to go home – I wanted to.

"It was nice there was that personal element about me as a person, not just the process.

"Even on the day in hospital, I didn’t expect to be up and walking about as quickly as I was, it was quite surprising."

Her operation was part of a programme of seven robotic hysterectomies performed during a bumper weekend of operations by the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).

Out of the seven, three patients were able to go home on the same day.

Ballari Ghosh, who led the team, said: "Patient safety was our top priority when we planned for this weekend.

Gynaecology HIT team (Image: East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust)

"Every member of the team worked with absolute precision to deliver seven robotic hysterectomies in two days.

"This new way of working was a first for the gynaecology service at ESNEFT.

"One of many benefits of robotic surgery is that it’s less invasive and so, generally, a patient’s recovery time is faster.

"Overall, the weekend was a big success and it’s something we will look to do again."

Lois Maskell, deputy associate director of operations for ESNEFT’s women’s and children’s division, added: "We are so proud of our team for making this bumper weekend of surgeries happen and for creating shorter waits for our patients.

"Moving forward, so we can make sure this practice becomes more consistent, we are looking to support more same-day discharges for our patients, as well as increasing the number of patients we see on each theatre list."