The Government of Western Australia has invested A$5 million for robotic urological surgery to be feasible in
the state.
According to the report
released by the Government of Western Australia, Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH)
will be the first public hospital in Western Australia (WA) to offer the state-of-the-art
da Vinci system.
Health Minister Roger Cook said, “The
multi-million-dollar investment from the McGowan Government shows our
commitment to providing the latest health techniques to benefit the lives of
Western Australians undergoing urological surgery.”
With the da Vinci system in place, suitable
patients of the public hospital that require urological procedures will be able
to receive robotic-assisted prostate and kidney surgery.
There are only seven public hospitals in
all of Australia equipped with this robotic surgical capability and FSH is one
of them. The A$5 million da Vinci system is the first of its kind in a WA
public hospital.
The da Vinci program allows for 3D vision,
magnification capabilities and enhanced dexterity on order for the surgeons to
manipulate and dissect areas where access is challenging or limited with the
human hand.
The da Vinci system delivers a better
patient experience when measured against traditional techniques because it will
result in patients having faster recovery, reduced length of stay in hospital
and faster return to normal activities.
Minister Cook said, “"This innovative
da Vinci Surgical System is all about putting patients first. We want all
Western Australians to have access to the best health services and treatments.”
Greater efficiencies are expected in the
long run due to improved surgical outcomes, and a lower likelihood of
subsequent treatments.
To guarantee that Western Australians are
able to continue benefiting from the latest medical technology available, a new
surgical robotics program was launched by FSH in order to train the next
generation of surgeons with using the robotics.
The first robotic surgery is expected to
happen in October of this year. To prepare for it, FSH is currently
commissioning the da Vinci system and training its staff.
Minister Cook added, “The robotic system is
a significant addition to the public hospital system in WA, with FSH now on par
with major private and international centres.”
He concluded, “The da Vinci system will establish
FSH as a 'centre of excellence' in robotic surgery and clinical innovation and
help ensure the WA health system will be able to attract and train expert
clinicians.”
