Hundreds given wrong surgery by NHS doctors
HUNDREDS of patients have suffered blunders during operations in a year, including one whose fallopian tube was removed instead of their appendix and another wrongly circumcised.
Some 435 “Never Events” – patient accidents that simply should not happen – occurred between April 2019 and February this year.
A total of 19,073 serious incidents were also reported in the NHS in the year to June 30.
They included 38 wrong teeth removed, while another 90 patients had objects left inside them following procedures.
A patient’s ovaries were taken out by accident, another had laser therapy to the wrong eye.
The man was mistakenly circumcised after a mix-up over treatments.
Never Events are deemed serious preventable incidents that should not occur if guidelines or safety recommendations are properly followed.
According to the NHS’S own rules, even a single Never Event is a red flag indicating a hospital or health trust’s regulations are not robust enough.
The number reported each year has not dropped significantly since records began in 2015. Peter Walsh, chief executive of patient safety charity Action Against Medical Accidents, said: “The remarkable thing is there doesn’t seem to be any decrease in numbers of Never Events or serious incidents taking place on the NHS in England.
“Behind these statistics there’s a human story to each one and these are incidents that severely affect people’s lives. Given the promised priority and focus on patient safety, it is deeply concerning there is no decrease.”
Helen Hughes, chief executive of Patient Safety Learning, said: “Really we should be aiming for a rate of zero Never Events, but of course you won’t get a system that is 100 per cent perfect. However, what we need to be looking at now is the causes of these events.we need a transformational change that puts patient safety at the core of everything the NHS does.
“There needs to be proper investigative systems in place to look at the why and not just who made a mistake, and that isn’t something that is happening right now. If you don’t look into the root causes of mistakes then you could be taking action that will do nothing.”
Shadow health minister Justin Madders said: “Harrowing mistakes impacting patient safety and wellbeing happen when exhausted staff are over stretched and overworked.”
An NHS spokesman said: “The NHS handles over half a billion patient contacts a year, so incidents like these are extremely rare. But it is vital when they do happen hospitals investigate, learn and act to minimise risks.
“We are doing even more to support NHS staff to care for patients safely, including developing new patient safety training and education and reporting system to help reduce risks.”
‘These are incidents that severely affect lives’