To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of patients who have received robotic-assisted surgery in Northern Ireland in each year since 2019, broken down by gender.

Since 2019, a total of 599 patients have received robotic-assisted surgery in Northern Ireland to date, 513 male patients and 86 female patients. Robotic-assisted surgery is a surgical model of care which is being adopted by many surgical specialities and was introduced into Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in 2018. Belfast Health and Social Care Trusts completed 52 procedures in 2019/20, all male patients; 11 procedures in 2020/21, all male patients; 144 procedures in 2021/22, with 123 male patients and 21 female patients; 142 procedures in 2022/23, with 126 male patients and 16 female patients; and 242 procedures in 2023/24, with 198 male patients and 44 female patients. The majority of procedures were within the speciality of Urology. In 2023/24 South Eastern Trust completed 8 procedures, with 3 male and 5 female patients. This service is delivered in the Ulster Independent Clinic, by a South Eastern Trust Colorectal Surgeon who is trained in robotic assisted surgery.