New figures reveal there’s been a rise in the number of medical foreign objects left inside hospital patients after surgery in England. “Foreign objects” accidentally left in body during medical care and surgical procedures led to a 291 “finished consultants’ episodes” according to the NHS official data.
Despite this finding, it has not been made clear when or where the patient had their operation or whether the procedure was carried in a private or NHS hospital. The reason for this would be because it takes a considerable amount of time to discover these types of. With 291 cases being the highest annual total in more than 20 years, this adds more pressure to the NHS in these critical times, as they take care of more patients than ever before as well as already facing cases in relation to medical negligence.
Considering there was 138 recorded episodes in 2003-2004 and 156 cases in 2001-2002, last year’s total is seen as considerably high, leaving authorities to be very concerned. These incidents are classed as a “never event” by the NHS as they are not supposed to happen. There are strict procedures in place for hospitals to prevent such blunders, including repeated counting of surgical tools and going through checklists to ensure nothing is missing.
The chief executive of the Patients Association, Rachel Power says “Never events are called that because they are serious incidents that are entirely preventable because the hospital or clinic has systems in place to prevent them from happening. while speaking to The Guardian. The serious physical and psychological effects they cause can stay with a patient for the rest of their life, and that should never happen to anyone who seeks treatment from the NHS”
A woman from east London was a victim of a similar medical malpractice in 2016 after having an operation. The 49-year-old said, “When I woke up, I felt something in my belly,” she said, “The knife they used to cut me broke and they left part in my belly.” Because of this, she had to stay in hospital for 2 more weeks for further treatments.
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