St Albans City Hospital has launched a new robotic surgery programme which is set to speed up recovery times and get people home faster after joint operations.

St Albans City Hospital is part of West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the first trust Hertfordshire and West Essex to offer robotic-assisted joint replacement for patients.

Previously, patients would have had to travel to London for the same treatment.

The Smith & Nephew Cori robot will enable surgeons to position knee or hip implants with greater accuracy. The robot builds a 3D model of the patient's anatomy in real time.

It is hoped the the robot’s workload will expand to around 200 joint replacements a year at St Albans – a third of the total.

In some cases, the patient's recovery will then be monitored through the trust's virtual hospital, which enables patients to be cared for from the comfort of their own home using specialist tech and the support of experts, who can track key health metrics remotely or in person.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ravi Popat, who is leading the robotics programme at St Albans said: “Operating with robots can provide a much better outcome for patients including a speedier recovery and ultimately a shorter hospital stay. This is much better for the patient and helps to free up beds.

“We’re proud to be providing top tier care for patients who would normally need to travel to a London hospital to benefit from this kind of specialist technology.”

Ben Spiegelberg, hip and knee lead consultant in the orthopaedic team at St Albans, said: “It’s very exciting for our theatre and surgical teams who have the chance to develop cutting-edge theatre skills and widen their career opportunities.”