A hospital in Basildon has issued an apology and launched an investigation following two botched operations.
The so-called “never events”, used to describe incidents so serious they should never happen, saw surgeons first operating on the wrong part of a patient’s body and in a separate incident, using the incorrect artificial body part on a patient.
Stephen Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, said: “It’s concerning whenever a never event happens.
“I hope the hospital will have a full and thorough investigation to identify where errors occurred and put in place procedures to make sure they never happen again.
“Any large organisation is always at the mercy of individuals conducting procedures, but I want to be assured management procedures are in place to prevent a recurrence.”
The hospital has issued an apology to the two individuals involved in the incidents, who it is understood both survived the errors, which happened in October. The trust will now discuss the outcome of the investigation with the two patients and has confirmed that it has taken action in main theatres. It says it has also developed an additional support programme with this division of surgery to ensure that the errors are not repeated. However, it has refused to reveal any further details about the errors, citing patient confidentiality.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said: “We have sincerely apologised to the two patients.
“The incidents are being investigated by the trust.
“Both patients are fully informed of the investigations and we will discuss the outcome with them.”