Lincolnshire hospitals left foreign objects in patients after surgery and gave wrong medication

Lincolnshire hospitals left foreign objects in patients after surgery and gave the wrong medication during so-called Never Events in the last four years. Incidents classed as Never Events are wholly preventable and have the potential to cause serious harm or death.

From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2024, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) recorded a total of 12 Never Events. These incidents took place at ULHT hospitals which include Lincoln County Hospital, Boston Pilgrim Hospital, Grantham and District Hospital and County Hospital Louth.

There is a long list of incidents which are classed as Never Events, from operating on the wrong part of the body to operating on the wrong patient altogether. After a Freedom of Information request was submitted to ULHT to release data surrounding individual Never Events each year from 2020, the trust said it could only provide limited information due to the risk of identifying patients.

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In 2020, the trust recorded less than five Never Events which involved misplaced naso or orogastric tubes and retained foreign object/s post procedure. Fluids or medication are introduced into the respiratory tract or pleura via naso or orogastric tubes and it could be fatal if they are misplaced.

In 2021, ULHT again recorded less than five Never Events which involved misplaced naso or orogastric tubes and incorrect administration of medication. Five Never Events were reported in 2022 which involved incorrect surgery locations and retained foreign object/s post procedure.

Less than five Never Events were recorded in 2023 which also involved incorrect surgery locations and retained foreign object/s post procedure. ULHT has reported zero Never Events in 2024 so far, up to and including April 15.

Director of Nursing at ULHT, Angie Davies, said: "The trust takes never events extremely seriously. As a trust, we report never events immediately and these are thoroughly investigated to establish the circumstances, identify what happened and how we can learn from the incidents and make changes to practice to minimise the risks of it happening again.

"The outcomes of our investigations are shared internally and with our external regulators."