Peter Cooke has been featured this July in a BBC short video about his expertise and how robotic surgery can help save lives.
As part of the NHS at 70 celebrations, the BBC made a number of short videos about the past, present, and future of the NHS. One of these videos, ‘NHS at 70: Robotic Surgery Saves Lives’ featured Peter Cooke from the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, who spoke about and demonstrated the role of robots in surgery.
The video discusses the revolutionary surgery, explaining that the robot does not do the actual surgery but instead acts as a surgical tool, allowing a clear view of inside the body. This is “unmatched by open surgery”.
Using a robot, Cooke explains, “enables you to do very dexterous surgery through keyhole incisions”.
Peter also discusses the technological transformation of the NHS.
“I’ve been a surgeon here for now 14 years and our service has developed in treating prostate cancer and bladder cancer.
We’ve gone from open surgery to standard keyhole surgery, about 10 years ago. And then seven or eight years ago we moved to robotic surgery. So we’ve had a progression through to get more advanced technology to improve our patient outcomes.”
On working for the NHS, Peter said:
“My experience is the team work, the camaraderie, the sense of purpose that certainly exists in this organisation, is key to our success. I live for surgery and I live for the outcomes. Seeing the patients do so well is a delight.
In the seventy years that the NHS has been around, there have been world-changing developments. It is a great achievement for Peter to be featured as not only a leading urologist, but also as a leading expert in robotic surgery on the BBC’s website to celebrate this momentous occasion for the NHS.
You can watch the full video by clicking here.