Hospital breaks prostate treatment record to tackle backlog

A hospital has performed a record number of pioneering prostate procedures in one day in a bid to help curb NHS waiting lists.

The majority of men given a robot-assisted waterjet technique for enlarged prostates at Frimley Health NHS Foundation trust on their record treatment day were able to go home just hours later.

Enlarged prostate, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, is a common non-cancerous condition in older men.

It can lead to problems with urinating, which in turn can cause trouble with sleep.

Patients can wait for months for care.

Frimley said it treated 12 men with enlarged prostates in one day using Aquablation therapy, a record for the NHS in England.

Eleven of the men treated were able to go home on the same day as their treatment, also known as a “day case”.

Nigel Howlett, 68, from Farnham in Surrey, received the treatment on the record-breaking day on October 18.

He had been suffering from symptoms of enlarged prostate and was on the waiting list for treatment for 18 months.

“I’ve lived with this for a long time, including a significant lack of sleep and then not drinking enough liquids to try and prevent the need to urinate,” Mr Howlett said.

“It might not be one of the most crucial procedures for the NHS but it has greatly affected my quality of life.”

He said he “felt fine” after the procedure and was allowed home the same day.

Mr Howlett added: “I’m hoping it will make quite a big difference to my symptoms in the future.

“This day was a very good idea to help patients like me who have waited too long.”

One in every three men over the age of 50 will have symptoms of an enlarged prostate including needing to visit the toilet more frequently, with more urgency and have difficulty emptying their bladder.

This rises to around 70%-80% of men over the age of 75.

Last year, the King shared that he had been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate.

Most men with urinary symptoms will not require an operation, with lifestyle changes such as drinking less alcohol or fizzy drinks, bladder training and eating more fibre recommended in the first instance.

Medicines like diuretics and alpha blockers, which relax the muscle in the gland making it easier to urinate, can also help, or urinary catheters if a patient is unable to urinate.

There are also a number of surgeries and procedures if these steps do not work.

The most common surgery for an enlarged prostate is a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), a procedure that involves cutting away a section of the prostate.

Men who have TURP are not usually treated as day cases.

Aquablation therapy uses a heat-free high-pressure waterjet and real-time imaging to destroy excess prostate tissue to make it smaller.

This can relieve symptoms and is also linked to fewer side effects, and many patients can be treated and sent home within one day.

Frimley Health was the first NHS trust in England to introduce the robotic Aquablation therapy procedure and led the initial trials to help develop the technique.

Since its introduction, the trust has carried out the highest number of NHS Aquablation therapy procedures in the country – with more than 500 patients being treated in the last five years.

Neil Barber, consultant urological surgeon and clinical lead for urology at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We usually perform a maximum of three Aquablation procedures in one half day operating list per week. However, growing demand from both local patients and those referred from further afield is increasing the waiting list.

“We wanted to utilise this technology to see what we could achieve to help patients waiting for treatment and demonstrate that the efficiency of treatment of Aquablation can really impact the waiting list.

“The biggest benefits of Aquablation therapy are its efficiency and predictability, which means we can treat a greater volume and achieve better outcomes.

“Thanks to the incredible hard work of our surgical team, the day was a huge success.

“We were able to perform a record number of procedures with more than 90% as day cases and shows what we could achieve for our patients in the future, with the right support in place.”

Published: 25/10/2025 by Radio NewsHub