Dr Shafaque Shaikh MBBS FRCS PhD, a Scottish Muslim doctor and consultant in colorectal and general surgery, has been praised for her recent efforts to introduce surgical robots as part of a £3.5m investment at NHS Grampian.
NHS Grampian, which oversees the care of more than 500,000 people living in Moray and Aberdeenshire, has invested millions in order to reduce waiting times and enhance patient care whilst hoping to come out of the coronavirus pandemic in a much-strengthened position to tackle the backlog of cases as well as to future-proof surgery for the north-eastern region.
Ms Shaikh, who is employed at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and holds honorary senior lecturer status at the University of Aberdeen, said of the unveiling of the three new surgical robots – including two da Vinci robots and a Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery system.
The da Vinci line of robots have been designed to decrease the need for more invasive operations with smaller incisions as well as seeing a reduction in pain and blood loss due to the higher precision afforded by the technology. The da Vinci robot was originally introduced by NHS Grampian in 2015, and has been used to treat gynaecology and urology patients.
After six years of use of the initial da Vinci surgical robot, feedback collated by surgeons has been overwhelmingly positive, with shorter recovery times and a better quality of healing subsequent to procedures.
