The key facts

  • The £2.4 million Da Vinci robot was bought with charitable donations and has been operating at Belfast City Hospital since May
  • 130 operations have been performed, 105 of them for complex endometriosis; four consultants have been trained
  • The Health Minister is expected to announce £1.95 million in investment, including £700,000 for two regional endometriosis centres

The first gynaecology robot on the island of Ireland

Since May, the Da Vinci surgical robot has been operating at Belfast City Hospital, used in complex gynaecology. As BBC News NI reports, it is the first device of its kind on the island of Ireland and one of only a few in the UK. The purchase cost £2.4 million, with funds raised through charitable donations to the trust's gynaecology services. By the time of publication, the robot had performed 130 operations, 105 of them on women with complex endometriosis; four consultant surgeons have been trained to operate it.

Why the robot is needed and who it affects

The robot is controlled by surgeons, but its 'manipulators' can bend in the tight space of the pelvis and, according to doctors, provide greater precision in complex operations than a human hand. The practical benefit for patients is that complex gynaecological cases are now treated as a priority and are no longer displaced from the schedule by other operations, including cancer surgery. Surgeon Hans Nagar noted that women with complex endometriosis in Northern Ireland had previously been worse served, and that Da Vinci now allows multidisciplinary operations; he also expects similar robots to appear elsewhere in Northern Ireland.

Long waits and new investment

The waiting problem is not abstract: the average wait for complex surgery was around seven years, and delays meant some women required a hysterectomy. Colleen Crothers' story illustrates the scale: her pain began at 14, but a referral to a gynaecologist and a diagnosis (endometriosis and adenomyosis) came only 22 years later; at 41 she had her uterus removed, and she missed having surgery with the Da Vinci by just a few weeks before it arrived. In June she had conventional surgery with a hysterectomy, after which, she says, she was almost free of pain.

Additional funding

On Monday, Health Minister Robbie Butler is expected to announce investment of £1.95 million in endometriosis treatment services. Of this, £700,000 will go to two regional endometriosis centres at Belfast City and Altnagelvin Area hospitals, and each health trust will receive £250,000 under phased funding for women with less complex symptoms. The Minister called it 'an important milestone' in improving women's health services. Thus, alongside the already operational robot, a separate funding package has been announced — meaning one decision has already been implemented, while the other still awaits official announcement.

Colleen Crothers - a woman with long, wavy brown hair - smiles at the camera in a room with plain white walls. She is wearing a black or dark green poloneck jumper and a gold necklace
Image caption,

Colleen Crothers has chronic endometriosis and waited in pain for surgery for years

Surgeons performing a medical procedure in a hospital theatre with the Da Vinci 5 robot. A patient is on an operating table, covered by blue sheets. White robotic arms, covered in clear plastic, are directed towards the patient, while surgeons in blue scrubs stand nearby.
Image caption,

Da Vinci 5 has multiple towering robotic arms which are operated by surgeons

Hans Nagar - a man with short, grey hair and glasses - looks at the camera while sitting in a hospital setting. He is wearing blue scrubs.
Image caption,

Hans Nagar is among the surgeons trained to operate DaVinci

Lauren Best - a woman with long, dark hair - smiles at the camera while standing in a hospital room. She is wearing blue scrubs and her hair is tied back in a net.
Image caption,

Lauren Best says robotic surgery reduces recovery times

Laura is a young woman with long, brown hair. She is staring at the camera. She is sitting on a grey sofa and is wearing a brown pinstripe blazer and a black t-shirt.Hans NagarClaire Nicholls