Walsall residents are being denied the same standard of modern cancer care as the rest of the Black Country, according to a leading patient advocate, who has highlighted the town's hospital as the only one in the region without robotic surgery for soft tissue cancers.
Ian Shires, a patient advocate for West Midlands Cancer Alliance and a National Cancer Forum Public Voice Partner, raised the issue at the Joint Royal Wolverhampton and Walsall NHS Trust Board meeting. He said the lack of a surgical robot at Walsall Manor Hospital forces patients to either undergo traditional surgery, which typically involves longer recovery times and more pain, or be transferred by ambulance to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
Inequality in access to robotic surgery
Mr Shires, a former councillor, argued that the current situation contradicts the National Cancer Plan and the Government's 10-year 'NHS Fit For The Future' strategy, which prioritises patient experience and equitable access to robotics. He said: "Our surgeons and clinicians at Walsall Manor Hospital are held in the highest esteem by their patients. They deliver outstanding care with the resources they have. The problem is not clinical skill - it is the unequal distribution of modern surgical technology across the Black Country."
He added: "Walsall residents deserve the same standard of modern cancer care as every other part of the Black Country. At the moment, they simply do not have it."
NHS response: Robotic strategy in development
In response, Dr Brian McKaig, Group Chief Medical Officer, said: "We are working with partners across the Black Country to develop a system-wide Robotic Surgery Strategy, which aims to support the equitable and sustainable development of robotic surgery services across the region to better serve our patients."
He also highlighted that Walsall's performance in post-elective operative stays compares favourably with neighbouring trusts. "The latest benchmarking indicates (over the last 12 months) Walsall Healthcare has an average post-elective operative length of stay of 2.6 days which benchmarks well in comparison to the other trusts in the Black Country (mean 2.8 days post-elective length of stay)," he said.
Impact on patients and call for improvement
Mr Shires acknowledged the improvement in stay durations, attributing it to the "professionalism and expertise" of the Colorectal team at Walsall Manor. However, he insisted that introducing robotics would further reduce recovery times and enhance patient experience. He noted that he has had positive dialogue with NHS bosses regarding the future of robotics in Walsall, but stressed that action is needed to end the inequality.
The campaigner's concerns come amid wider efforts to modernise cancer services across the West Midlands, with the NHS Trust confirming that a Black Country-wide robotic strategy is in development to support the expansion of these services regionally.
