Call for process review to cut risk of surgical swabs being left in patients
The process used by surgery teams to ensure nothing is left behind in a patient’s body following an operation should be reviewed, the patient safety body has said.
It comes after one woman who had heart surgery had to have further operations to remove two swabs left behind in her chest.
Swabs being left in patients after an operation are classed as “never events” by NHS England – a serious incident that is entirely preventable due to national guidelines putting safety barriers in place.
What we have called for in our report is for those working in healthcare to think differently
