Concerns about ‘inequality’ for Walsall people as town’s hospital doesn't have robotic surgery for cancer
The NHS Trust said it was currently developing a Black Country wide robotic strategy to support the development across the region.
A health campaigner has raised concerns about ‘inequality’ for Walsall people with the town’s hospital being the only one in the Black Country without robotic surgery for cancer.
Patient advocate Ian Shires said Walsall Manor Hospital not providing a soft tissue surgical robot left people with the choice of undergoing traditional surgery which he said typically involves longer recovery and more pain or being transferred by ambulance to Wolverhampton’s New Cross.
The former councillor also said the current system goes against the National Cancer Plan and the Government’s 10 year ‘NHS Fit For The Future’ which calls for patient experience and equity to access to robotics to be put front and centre.
The NHS Trust said it was currently developing a Black Country wide robotic strategy to support the development across the region.
It also said Walsall’s performance in post-elective operative stay in hospital compared well with its neighbouring trusts.
Mr Shires, who is a patient advocate for West Midlands Cancer Alliance and a National Cancer Forum Public Voice Partner, said: “Our surgeons and clinicians at Walsall Manor Hospital are held in the highest esteem by their patients.
“They deliver outstanding care with the resources they have. The problem is not clinical skill — it is the unequal distribution of modern surgical technology across the Black Country.
“Walsall residents deserve the same standard of modern cancer care as every other part of the Black Country. At the moment, they simply do not have it.”
Mr Shires raised the issue at the Joint Royal Wolverhampton and Walsall NHS Trust Board meeting.
He said he has had positive dialogue with NHS bosses regarding the future of robotics in Walsall.
Dr Brian McKaig, Group Chief Medical Officer, said: “We are working with partners across the Black Country to develop a system-wide Robotic Surgery Strategy, which aims to support the equitable and sustainable development of robotic surgery services across the region to better serve our patients.
“In the meantime, Walsall Manor Hospital continues to deliver high-quality surgical care, with outcomes that compare favourably with other Black Country Trusts.
“The latest benchmarking indicates (over the last 12 months) Walsall Healthcare has an average post-elective operative length of stay of 2.6 days which benchmarks well in comparison to the other trusts in the Black Country (mean 2.8 days post-elective length of stay).”
But Mr Shires the figures showed a welcome improvement which was down to the expertise of the ‘professionalism and expertise’ of the Colorectal team.
He also said robotics would help improve those figures even further and put patient experience at the forefront.
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