A mum-of-three was back at home with her feet up on the sofa within hours of having major abdominal surgery.
Ceri Fishlock, 56, has recovered from her recent hysterectomy so well that she was able to return to working from home earlier than planned.
It was carried out by a specialist team using a surgical robot at Colchester Hospital, run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).
Ceri Fishlock
Ceri was in theatre at 7.30am, on a ward by 11.30am and then back at home in Clacton by 5pm.
Ceri, who works for Essex County Council, has praised her care and treatment.
She said: “It’s been great for me – both having the surgery done robotically and coming home the same day. I would recommend it to people.
“No one was pushy in saying I had to go home – I wanted to. It was nice there was that personal element about me as a person, not just the process.
“Even on the day in hospital I didn’t expect to be up and walking about as quickly as I was. It was quite surprising.
“You do still need to take things fairly easily, but your recovery is definitely better in your own home. I felt fine in myself and like I could do anything and everything after just a couple of weeks.”
Ceri’s surgery was done during a bumper weekend of operating lists that saw seven robotic hysterectomies performed in two days. Out of the seven, three patients – including Ceri – were able to go home on the same day of their surgery, supporting the Trust’s aim to make time matter for its patients.
Miss Ballari Ghosh led the two surgical teams which carried out the HIT list
ESNEFT’s cancer lead, consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician Miss Ballari Ghosh, led the high intensity team (HIT) weekend.
She said: “Patient safety was our top priority when we planned for this weekend. Every member of the team worked with absolute precision to deliver seven robotic hysterectomies in two days.
“We reviewed every patient in advance, carefully assessing their suitability for both robotic surgery and same day discharge.
“This new way of working was a first for the gynaecology service at ESNEFT. It will help us to not only reduce our waiting lists but improve patient experience too. One of many benefits of robotic surgery is that it’s less invasive and so, generally, a patient’s recovery time is faster.
“Overall, the weekend was a big success and it’s something we will look to do again. We’ll also share the learning with our colleagues within gynaecology and in other specialties too.”
Ceri, who’s married and has three grown up children, welcomed the opportunity to have robotic surgery.
“It didn’t faze me at all,” she added.
“In this day and age, it’s how things go. Next thing you know, we’ll be doing our own operations.”
The idea for the HIT list came about following a visit from Intuitive, the company which has supplied ESNEFT with its surgical robots.
The team explained that other Trusts were carrying them out and seeing the benefits. That’s when Miss Ghosh and her team decided to make it happen in gynaecology.
It is hoped the success of the Trust’s first HIT list will inspire gynaecology and other specialty areas to embrace working in the same way going forward as teams work hard to reduce waiting times for planned operations in east Suffolk and north Essex.
Lois Maskell, deputy associate director of operations for ESNEFT’s Women’s and Children’s division, said: “We are so proud of our team for making this bumper weekend of surgeries happen and for creating shorter waits for our patients.
“Moving forward, so we can make sure this practice becomes more consistent, we are looking to support more same day discharges for our patients, as well as increasing the number of patients we see on each theatre list.”
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