News that doctors at Glenfield Hospital have become the first in the world to use a robotic arm to carry out complex heart surgery is a remarkable coup for the city and our local health service.

It is not the first time that Glenfield has been used to pioneer heart surgery and it is recognition of the extraordinary work carried out at the hospital. It is also a tribute to the calibre of the consultants who work in our city - on this occasion, Dr Andre Ng.

The international reputation of Dr Ng comes not only from his work as a consultant, but also as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Leicester. The collaboration between the hospital and the university strengthens the pull of Leicester as the perfect place to attempt such leading edge surgery. It is also a very real example of the tangible benefits to us all of the research carried out in universities.

This is a timely reminder that local hospitals like Glenfield are centres of excellence to match even the great teaching hospitals of London.

Perhaps the most important element of this story, however, is the fact that this pioneering operation was carried out under the National Health Service.

As the General Election comes ever closer, the NHS remains a political football, but this remarkable piece of work in Leicester underlines the importance of listening to the policies of the leading parties. The work that was carried out yesterday was done using equipment which is on loan to the city.

The cost of putting it permanently into Glenfield would be in the region of £350,000 – it is for the voters to decide which party they trust most to invest in the NHS and bring this sort of life-saving machinery to Leicester.