A DAY case procedure being used by surgeons in Southampton to remove kidney stones could save the NHS up to 10,000 bed days per year if replicated across the country.

Bhaskar Somani, a consultant urological surgeon at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, and his team are performing more than three times the amount of ureteroscopies in a day than the national average.

The minimally invasive procedure involves inserting a ureteroscope, which is a thin tube used for viewing, into the kidney via the bladder to visualise stones before removing them using a small forceps-like tool.

Kidney, or renal, stones develop when crystals of salt accumulate into stone-like lumps and are not flushed out of the body.

The condition, which affects around 10 to 15 per cent of the male population and three to seven per cent of women between the ages of 20 and 60, can lead to stone blockages in the urinary system and cause pain and recurrent urinary tract infections or sepsis.

In a study presented at the European Association of Urology Congress in London, Mr Somani and his colleagues reported 78 per cent of 544 stone removal procedures using ureteroscopy were performed at University Hospital Southampton between 2012 and 2016 with a success rate of 95 per cent and a low complication rate of four per cent.

The majority of ureteroscopies result in an overnight stay in hospital, with the national average for procedures completed in a day at just 22 per cent.

In November, Mr Somani warned the country faces a kidney stone “epidemic”, with one-in-seven people likely to require hospital treatment.