Carrie Symington, Senior Improvement Manager, and Elaine Chapman, Lead Nurse for the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) project recently had the pleasure of visiting the Cambridge Surgical Training Centre (CSTC) on the Quorum site. They discuss what the new area will offer staff across the region, what they learned from the tour, and the opportunities the Centre presents for staff working in the future Cancer hospital.
Located just a seven-minute drive from Addenbrooke’s Hospital, with free parking, the centre houses two high-tech labs, each set up to look and feel like a real operating theatre. Large screens on the walls let you stream procedures live to a nearby seminar room, breakout lounge, or even further afield.
Along with colleagues from the Cambridge Children’s Hospital (CCH) project, we toured the spaces available to practise surgical and keyhole procedures on animal or donated human models, and the new Cambridge Digital Health Training Centre, a brand-new 6,000 sq ft expansion. Formally opening in early 2026, the new area will offer an AI analytics suite, an augmented and virtual reality suite, modern teaching rooms, and a 360° green-screen studio for nurses, AHPs and medical staffing.
The training centre, funded by Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) Postgraduate Centre and NHS England, isn’t just for local teams — it’s set up to teach and train people region-wide, thanks to the impressive streaming and simulation tech. This ability to put together training programmes – both surgical and non-surgical, and then facilitate easy access for colleagues around the region, aligns closely with the aims of both CCRH and CCH.
With its combination of advanced surgical and digital health training resources, the Centre is set to become the most technically sophisticated clinical training facility in the UK, providing healthcare professionals with an unrivalled environment for learning, practice, and innovation.
A 2022 meta-analysis of 18 randomised trials found that virtual reality practice helped junior surgeons complete laparoscopic tasks about eight minutes faster, and improved their skills, making actual operations quicker and safer. Learning science backs this up: “learning by doing” helps us retain around 75% of new information, compared to just 10% after reading alone.
CSTC already welcomes NHS, university, and industry bookings, and there’s still room for more, with opportunities for nursing and therapy colleagues too. As CUH continues to work closely with the University of Cambridge and industry partners, this facility could provide opportunities to test and train on innovative technologies, which is another key strand of CCH and CCRH.
It’s a cutting-edge resource hidden in plain sight, giving every expert a platform to teach, and every trainee or student a place to build skills. This face-to-face environment encourages networking and innovation, which will help attract and retain staff—and most importantly, improve care for adults and children across the East of England.
Dr Arun Gupta, Consultant in Anaesthesia at CUH and Director of the Cambridge Digital Health and Surgical Training Centre said: “The CSTC and newly opened Digital Health Training Centre offers unique facilities for widening access and driving up standards in training for our expanding healthcare workforce."
"The Collaboration of the Digital Health and Surgical training Centre with the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital and Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will open huge opportunities in learning and training with state-of-the-art methods and technologies for our staff.”
Dr Arun Gupta, Consultant in Anaesthesia at CUH and Director of the Cambridge Digital Health and Surgical Training Centre
If you would like to find out more about the Cambridge Surgical Training Centre, please visit their website (opens in a new tab) or find them on LinkedIn @Cambridge Surgical Training Centre. (opens in a new tab)