
Robotics in Healthcare: An Extension of Excellence
This event was the first in our series of ‘in conversation’ events shining a spotlight on the wonderful work the charity supports for Newcastle Hospitals.
Robotics in Healthcare: An Extension of Excellence was a great success and will be followed up in Autumn of 2024 with the second event in the series which will focus on Arts within healthcare. Visit our events page to find out more about this event.
Robotics in Healthcare: An Extension of Excellence took place on 9 July 2024.
Event video
Overview of the event
This event featured expert speakers discussing how robotics and AI are having a truly transformational impact on patient care.
Event details
Date: Tuesday 9th July
Time: 5:30pm – 7pm (5:30pm – 6pm for drinks and canapes)
Venue: Education Centre, Freeman Hospital
Free to attend, and free parking for event attendees.
Newcastle Hospitals Charity was delighted to support the purchase of a state-of-art robotics system earlier this year thanks to our amazing supporters and our fantastic panel discussed the impact robotics and AI are having on healthcare now and will continue to have in the future.
Event photo gallery
Panel speakers
Mr Andy Bowey – Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Prof Richard Brady – Consultant Surgeon, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Matt Atkinson – Chief Innovation Officer, Waymark.
Charlotte Fox – Business Innovation Manager, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Chair: Teri Bayliss, Charity Director, Newcastle Hospitals Charity.
Agenda for the evening
17:30 – 18:00 | Canapés and refreshments |
18:00 – 18:10 | Welcome and introductions |
18:10 – 18:20 | Mr Andy Bowey, Consultant orthopaedic surgeon – spinal surgery (Newcastle Hospitals) |
18:20 – 18:30 | Professor Richard Brady, Consultant colorectal surgeon with a specialist practice in Inflammatory Bowel Disease surgery (Newcastle Hospitals) |
18:30 – 18:35 | Matt Atkinson, Chief Innovation Officer at Waymark |
18:35 – 18:40 | Charlotte Fox, Business Innovation Manager (Newcastle Hospitals) |
18:40 – 19:00 | Q&A |
19:00 | Close |
Biographies

Mr Andrew James Bowey, Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
MBChB MMedEd MRCS(Glasg) FRCS(Tr&Orth)
Mr Bowey read medicine at the University of Aberdeen where he was awarded both the orthopaedic and radiology medals. He completed the West of Scotland basic surgical training programme before moving to Liverpool for specialist orthopaedic training. Thereafter he was a fellow at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital (Liverpool), Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (Oswestry), Royal Victoria Infirmary & Great North Children’s Hospital (Newcastle) and Princess Alexandria & Queensland Children’s Hospital (Brisbane).
Mr. Bowey started as a consultant in Newcastle in 2015 where he specialises in paediatric and adult deformity, utilising robotics, patient specific implants, navigation, thoracoscopy, ALIF, OLIF and three column osteotomies. His research interests include explanted spinal implants and the growing spine. This work continues as part of his role on the panel for ODEP spine and the MHRA. Mr Bowey is an educationalist, working as senior lecturer at Newcastle University along with regional post-graduate training.
Email: [email protected]

Professor Richard Brady, Consultant Surgeon, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Richard is a consultant surgeon with a specialist interest in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and robotic colorectal surgery at Newcastle Hospitals, visiting Professor of Surgery at Ulster University and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University. He is lead for Newcastle Centre for Bowel Disease Research Group. He trained in Belfast, Edinburgh with further fellowships in Newcastle and Salford.
Richard has a specialist interest in minimally invasive/robotic IBD surgery, stoma technology and improving patient outcomes. He has been at the cutting edge of surgical social media throughout its evolution, bringing the technology into effective use at the British Journal of Surgery, European Society of Coloproctology and the NIHR clinical research network in the North-East of England.
Richard has a strong academic interest in IBD and digital health solutions to improve the treatment of colorectal disease, modernising care and surgery and improving new routes for monitoring or diagnosis. Richard is a member of council of the RSM coloproctology section and is a regular international speaker on the subject of surgery and technology.

Matt Atkinson, Chief Innovation Officer, Waymark
As the Chief Innovation Officer at Waymark, Matt develops and manages digital roadmaps, providing unique value to customers and building long-term relationships with partners. Matt is responsible for launching digital products and services for clients and for growing Waymark’s innovation capabilities.
Matt is a certified design sprint master and a process improvement consultant, with a unique ability to apply design thinking and agile methods to any process, problem or opportunity.
Outside of work, Matt enjoys a daily 5am trip to the gym, is a military veteran and supporter of veteran charities and is passionate about supporting digital inclusion and social impact initiatives and volunteers as an Ambassador for The Digital Poverty Alliance.

Charlotte Fox, Business Innovation Manager, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Charlotte and the team support staff to discover, develop and deliver innovative ideas and solutions. Charlotte leads on creating and developing the Trust’s innovation strategy and innovation pathway, and she also has specialist expertise in intellectual property.
Over the past 14 years Charlotte has worked in various roles across the NHS, with an academic background in biomedical science and drug discovery and development, she has specialist expertise in clinical research, evidence generation and supporting a culture for innovation.
Charlotte is a pivotal part of the innovation ecosystem across the north east and north Cumbria building up a large network of partners across different sectors, universities and industry to support innovation in health. Setting up and chairing the region’s innovation forum and scaling up products to national adoption are amongst Charlotte’s achievements to date
By supporting innovation we can keep pace with medical advances and the latest ground-breaking solutions products which enhance the quality of the care we provide and create positive experiences for patients.