A record number of “foreign objects” have been left in patients’ bodies after surgery, new data reveals.
Incidents analyzed by the PA news agency show this happened a total of 291 times in 2021/22.
Swabs and gauze used during an operation or procedure are some of the most common items left inside a patient, but in some rare cases, surgical instruments such as scalpels and drills have been found.
Hospitals have strict procedures to prevent such errors, including checklists and multiple counts of surgical instruments.
Leaving an object inside a patient after surgery is classed as a ‘never event’ by the NHS – meaning the incident is so serious it should never have happened.
When a surgical instrument is left inside the patient, additional surgery may be required to remove it.
Sometimes such mistakes are not discovered until weeks, months or years after the event.
In 2001/02 there were 156 of these episodes.
The lowest number was in 2003/04, when 138 episodes were recorded by clinicians.
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NHS figures do not make clear when a patient had their initial operation or treatment or whether it was carried out by the NHS or a private hospital.
And each ‘episode’ may not be the equivalent of one patient, as some people may have sought care more than once at a different hospital, but the figures come as the NHS is under intense pressure and cares for more patients than ever before.
Commenting on the analysis, Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: “Events are never called that because they are serious incidents that are completely preventable because the hospital or clinic has systems in place to prevent them from happening .
“When they occur, the serious physical and psychological effects they cause can stay with the patient for the rest of their life and this should never happen to anyone seeking NHS treatment.
“Whilst we fully appreciate the crisis facing the NHS, events should never simply happen if preventative measures are in place.”
An east London woman has described how she “lost hope” after part of a surgical blade was left in her after an operation to remove her ovaries in 2016.
The 49-year-old, who spoke to PA on condition of anonymity, said: “When I woke up, I felt something in my stomach.
“The knife they used to cut me broke and left a piece in my stomach.
She added: “I was weak, I lost so much blood, I was in pain, all I could do was cry.”
The object was left inside her for five days, resulting in an additional two-week hospital stay.
“I’ve lost hope, I’ve lost faith in them, I don’t trust them anymore,” she said.
The wound from the second operation also took a long time to heal – a scar remains.
“Every time I look at my belly, it’s there,” she added.
Emmalene Bushnell and Kriya Hurley, of the medical negligence department at law firm Leigh Day, who represented the woman in her subsequent claim, said in a joint statement: “Undergoing surgery is obviously very distressing for any patient, but in cases of retained foreign objects they often result in significant harm to the patient.
“Unfortunately, we continue to see cases of retained objects after surgery, resulting in patients being readmitted to hospital, undergoing a second surgery, suffering from sepsis or infection, experiencing fistula or bowel obstruction, visceral perforation and psychological impairment.”
An earlier analysis by the PA, published in May 2022, found that around 407 never events were recorded in the NHS in England from April 2021 to March 2022.
Vaginal swabs were left on patients 32 times, and surgical swabs were left on 21 occasions.
Some of the other items left inside the patients included part of a pair of wire cutters, part of a scalpel blade and a bolt of surgical forceps.
On three separate occasions during the year, part of a drill was left inside a patient.
An NHS spokesman said: “Thanks to the hard work of NHS staff, incidents like these are rare.
“However, when they do happen, the NHS is committed to learning from them to improve care for future patients.
“Last year the NHS published new guidance introducing a significant change to the way the NHS responds to patient safety incidents, which will help organizations increase their focus on understanding how incidents happen and taking steps to make improvements .”
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