AbstractBackgroundThe distribution, utilisation and accessibility of surgical robotics in England is unknown.MethodsA nationwide Freedom of Information (FOI) request was sent to all acute National Health Service (NHS) trusts. Accessibility was assessed for 32 843 Lower Super Output Areas in England.ResultsAll 149 acute NHS trusts responded to the FOI request. Sixty‐one robots are distributed between 48 trusts. The number of robots and robotic procedures has increased annually. Urological procedures comprise 84.2% of robotic procedures. Procedure volume varies between robotic centres ranging from 1 to 683 in 2018. Over 2.4 million people have a travel time of over 1 hour to their nearest robotic centre.DiscussionNational accessibility to robotic services and case volumes are variable and does not represent good value for the NHS. A national robotic surgery registry could improve the quality of robotic surgery and is needed to dynamically assess national provision of this technology.
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