Expansion of pioneering robotic surgery training programme announced

The Shelford Group has announced a major expansion of its pioneering Surgical Training in Advanced Robotic Technology (START) programme, extending accredited, platform-agnostic robotic surgery training to surgical trainees across the South East of England. Already available in the North East, North West and East of England, START will now be offered in Thames Valley, Wessex and Kent, Surrey and Sussex from the 2026/27 academic year.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will lead delivery across Thames Valley and Wessex. Kent, Surrey and Sussex will become the first region outside the Shelford Group network to adopt the programme in its own right, with training being delivered at the MATTU (Minimal Access Therapy Training Unit), part of the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. From 2026/27, six of England’s thirteen deanery footprints will be running START, marking a significant step towards the programme’s long-term ambition of making accredited, platform-agnostic robotic surgery training available to surgical trainees across the country.

The expansion comes as the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England commits the NHS to adopting robotic-assisted surgery as standard for an expanded range of procedures over the next decade. NHS England has set a national ambition for 9 in 10 keyhole surgeries to be delivered with robot assistance within 10 years, up from around 1 in 5 today, with robotic surgery becoming the default for many operations.

By embedding robotic surgery capability into surgical training, START directly supports this national ambition by helping to ensure the future workforce has the skills, confidence and supervised experience needed to deliver safe, effective robotic-assisted care at greater scale.

The expansion marks the next phase of growth for the nationally recognised programme, which was formally launched in December 2025, accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in March 2026, and is supported by the Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT).

The decision follows a highly successful pilot in the North East, North West and East of England, where feedback from trainees and industry partners has been overwhelmingly positive, and phase two of the programme pilot is now nearing completion.

Developed by the Shelford Group in partnership with the Newcastle Surgical Training Centre, START is designed to deliver comprehensive, standardised surgical robotics training across Intuitive’s da Vinci, CMR Surgical’s Versius and the Medtronic Hugo™ RAS surgical system. Delivered over 36–48 months, START combines e-learning, industry-led technology training, simulation tasks with feedback, hands-on skills days and supervised clinical experience. A dedicated online Skills Tracker enables trainees to log activity, receive supervisor feedback and monitor progress against programme milestones.

Jonathan Brotherton, Chief Executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and Chair of the Shelford Group, said: "Robotic-assisted surgery is transforming the way healthcare is delivered across a growing number of specialties. As adoption accelerates across the NHS, it is essential that we equip the next generation of surgeons with the skills, confidence and experience needed to work in increasingly technology-enabled operating theatres.

"The success of the START pilot has demonstrated the value of a coordinated national approach to robotic surgery training. We are delighted to expand the programme into Thames Valley, Wessex and Kent, Surrey and Sussex, extending access to high-quality training and helping to build the future workforce needed to support advances in patient care."

You can read more on the Shelford Group website.

Expansion of pioneering START programme announced   - Shelford Group