Blog

Jul 08, 2023

Woman forced to postpone chemotherapy after swab left inside her during surgery

The hospital has apologised and agreed an out-of-court-settlement with the patient Keep up to date with the latest stories with our WalesOnline newsletter We have more newsletters Keep up to date with

The hospital has apologised and agreed an out-of-court-settlement with the patient

Keep up to date with the latest stories with our WalesOnline newsletter

We have more newsletters

Keep up to date with the latest stories with our WalesOnline newsletter

We have more newsletters

A swab was mistakenly left inside a patient after she underwent a hysterectomy procedure. The Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has apologised and agreed an out-of-court settlement with the patient after it was left inside her following an operation to remove cancer.

She underwent a hysterectomy procedure at Castle Hill Hospital in East Yorkshire in March 2022. The error caused the 61-year-old patient to need further surgery, leading to her having to postpone her next cycle of chemotherapy treatment.

Such errors are classed by the NHS as ‘Never Events’ – serious incidents which are wholly preventable, the Hull Daily Mail reports. A few weeks after being discharged home, the woman noticed her wound from the surgery had reopened and was weeping. She returned to hospital and after a period on antibiotics proved unsuccessful, she was sent for a CT scan which revealed the swab had been left inside her.

She had to undergo further surgery to remove it, meaning she had to postpone a scheduled session of chemotherapy as she waited for the wound to heal for a second time. The woman sought representation from medical negligence specialists Hudgell Solicitors, who secured an out of court damages settlement from Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which admitted breaching its duty of care.

“I sought legal representation as I didn’t feel that my consultant was compassionate or understanding enough about the impact this had on me,” said the woman. “It was difficult for both myself and my husband when the wound opened up.

"There was the worry of what was causing it initially, especially given I’d had surgery to remove cancer, and my husband had to help me clean and redress the wound, which wasn’t pleasant. That was a real period of worry and anxiety and I was prone to bouts of crying and felt I was lacking in energy, so I went for counselling. Even now, if I feel anything unusual I start to panic in case something else has gone wrong.

“It also impacted on my social life; I have always enjoyed attending live music events and had to miss several gigs I had tickets for due to the delays caused to my treatment, and because I felt the need to be cautious about my wound and how vulnerable it made me feel.

Subscribe here for the latest news where you live

“After the surgery to remove the swab, the wound blistered, and when I asked the consultant why this had happened she was quite dismissive, which I felt was unacceptable given it was the hospital’s error that had caused it. That was when I sought legal action, as I wanted the Trust to take it seriously, and not be so dismissive about the fears it caused me.”

An investigation by the Trust found a medium swab had been used to hold back the woman’s bowel to improve visualisation of the area during the procedure, which was not a common occurrence, and that it may have been missed before the wound was closed. A scrub nurse admitted the final swab count, completed after skin closure, had been counted incorrectly.

As part of learnings from the incident, recommendations have since been made for theatre teams to use larger swabs which have long tags attached to them; which can remain outside a patient’s body; for similar procedures. All members of theatre teams involved in swab, needles and instrument counts were also required to review guidance with regards to surgical procedures, and the minimum standards expected.

It was also recommended that audits of all theatres be undertaken to ensure national guidance was being followed and met.