A 44-year-old woman was left ‘shocked, horrified and upset’ after procedure, with surgeon blaming manufacturing fault
Thousands harmed and 87 dead after NHS equipment failures in England
Jane Harvey* suffered horrendous physical and mental consequences when, during an abdominal hysterectomy in October 2023, the tip of one of the surgeon’s blades broke off and lodged inside her without any of the operating theatre staff noticing or an X-ray spotting it.
As a result the 44-year-old had to undergo further surgery to remove the mislaid blade part and stay in hospital longer than planned, needed extra time to recover and suffered nightmares, panic attacks and loss of appetite. She is now suing the NHS trust concerned for damages because of her experience.
She was “shocked, horrified and upset” when she learned that surgeons had left some of their kit inside her. She was also worried after being told that she was at increased risk of infection, which meant she had to take antibiotics. Given what had happened, the thought of having a second operation left her “drained and scared”.
