Research shows that hospitals in the UK have one of the worst records in the industrialised world for leaving surgical instruments in patients after surgery
British hospitals are among the worst in the Western world for leaving surgical instruments in the body after surgery, international research has found. A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that the UK has the sixth worst record for foreign bodies after surgery, with 5.5 cases per 100,000 people discharged from hospital. The rate is three times that of Poland, with 1.9 cases per 100,000 patients, and twice that of Slovenia, at 2.9 cases per 100,000. Such incidents are classed by the NHS as “never events” because they are should be avoided by systems of checks.
Leaving foreign bodies in patients increases the risk of deadly infections and other complications, and can result in fatal blood poisoning and organ failure. In the year 2014/15, there were 102 such cases in England, latest data shows
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Filed under: Hospital, NHS, Hospital, NHS, patients, Surgery, surgical instruments
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