Britain’s healthcare system plans to integrate, more robotic system in hospital for small surgeries.
The National Health Service (NHS) in England plans to integrate robotic systems into most minimally invasive surgeries by 2035. The initiative aims to address operational pressures by reducing patient wait times and increasing bed availability for procedures such as joint replacements and hysterectomies.
Currently, around 70,000 minimally invasive surgeries in the UK each year, about one in five of the surgeries are robot-assisted. The NHS target is to increase this to 500,000 annually within the next decade, representing 90% of such operations.
The US leads globally in robotic surgery, with more than 2.6 million procedures in 2024 involving systems from medical robotics firms, according to the American Hospital Association. This was a 17% rise from 2023. The global surgical robotics market is valued at $3 billion, with industry research indicating strong interest from surgeons in adopting the technology.
On the contrary, in India, Robotic-assisted procedures make up around 10% of surgeries in hospitals equipped with the systems, with some performing approximately 60,000 robot-assisted operations in 2024. Deployment includes over 170 robots and 1,500 trained surgeons, with a cost of ₹15–20 crore for a single machine and per-procedure costs ranging between ₹1.5–4 lakh.
Robotic systems provide precision through advanced tools and 3D visualisation, enabling smaller incisions and potentially faster recovery times. However, cost remains a limiting factor. The price per unit ranges between $500,000 and $2.5 million, with annual maintenance and servicing adding around $100,000 per device. Studies also show higher average costs for robot-assisted surgeries compared to laparoscopic procedures.
Adoption is further influenced by surgeon training and familiarity with existing laparoscopic methods, which can achieve similar patient outcomes. Robotic surgical instruments also have a shorter usage lifespan, often requiring replacement after 15–20 procedures, compared to longer-lasting conventional tools.
