Patient had wrong part of skin removed in operation at Shropshire hospital
Surgeons removed the wrong part of a patient's skin in an operation in Shropshire, it was revealed today.
The trust that runs Shropshire's two main hospitals has apologised to the patient, who they say underwent an "incorrect surgical procedure".
The mistake was one of four serious incidents at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) in September which included one delayed treatment, one delayed diagnosis and one incident described as "wrong site surgery" – also known as a "never event". Health officials say "never events" are serious incidents that are considered wholly preventable.
Hospital bosses said that in this instance the "never event" involved a patient having the wrong skin lesion removed.
A skin lesion is a part of the skin that has an abnormal growth or appearance compared to the skin around it. They can often be an indication of a skin cancer risk.
The mistake was highlighted by a member of the patient's family and the patient was seen by a consultant.
A successful follow-up operation was carried out shortly afterwards.
The events surrounding the mistake were reported to a SaTH board meeting.
The incident was the first "never event" at the trust in more than three years.
Sarah Bloomfield, director of nursing and quality at SaTH, today apologised for the mistake and said it was the subject of an investigation.
She said: "Regrettably in this instance the incorrect skin lesion was removed.
"The issue was identified by a member of the patient's family and the patient was seen by a consultant, with a successful operation shortly afterwards.
"We have provided a full explanation and apology to the patient and have learned from this incident.
"We've carried out a thorough investigation and have taken significant actions to ensure it does not happen again.
"We've improved our marking procedures, changing the way skin lesions are marked and we are reviewing our marking policy to ensure that responsibilities around marking are clear. These steps should ensure this is an isolated incident. I'd like to again apologise to the patient for this incident and any distress it has caused."
Primary care trusts are required to monitor the occurrence of never events within the services they commission.
They are instructed to publicly report them on an annual basis.
Latest national figures released by NHS England reported 308 never events at hospitals across the country between April 1 last year and March 31 this year.
