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Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to learn from ‘never event’ incidents after paying out almost £100,000


Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has pledged to improve patient safety after paying £92,812 in compensation for retained foreign objects over the past five years.


Including legal costs of £145,261, the total expenditure reached £256,059. 


Retained foreign objects, classified as ‘Never Events’ by NHS England, are serious and preventable errors where items such as surgical tools or swabs are mistakenly left inside patients after procedures. Between April 2019 and September 2024, the Trust reported eight incidents involving surgical swabs, guidewires, a surgical instrument screw, a mouth prop, and a tourniquet. 


A spokesperson for the Trust said: “We take patient safety extremely seriously and strive to not have retained foreign object incidents. Whenever there is an incident, it is thoroughly reviewed, and learning is shared to ensure the chances of it happening again are minimised.”

 

The Trust confirmed no incidents occurred in 2023/24 or the first half of 2024/25. 


In the region, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust paid £85,250 for five retained object claims, while Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust settled six claims at a cost of £38,033. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust recorded the highest number of incidents in Yorkshire, with 19 cases leading to £205,000 in damages.


 Across England, NHS Trusts paid out £14.8 million in damages for retained object claims between 2019/20 and 2023/24. NHS Resolution resolved 741 claims, with 556 resulting in payouts. 


Sophie Cope, a clinical negligence solicitor with Medical Negligence Assist, highlighted the significant impact of these cases: “Foreign body cases are thankfully not too common, but they can cause lasting pain. If someone suffers avoidable harm, they have a right to seek compensation.” 

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