Hospital apologises for leaving needle in patient

Surgeons at Castle Hill Hospital in East Yorkshire left a needle inside a heart patient

A hospital has apologised after surgeons left a needle in a man's chest following surgery.

Leslie Runkee, from Burstwick, in East Yorkshire, was undergoing a heart operation at Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, in October 2023 when the blunder happened.

The father-of four needed a second operation 48 hours later to remove the needle. He died in May 2024, aged 76.

In a statement, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised to Mr Runkee's wife, Gillian, and added: "Our aim is to deliver the highest possible standards of patient care, and we deeply regret that on this occasion those standards were not met."

The trust agreed an undisclosed surgical negligence compensation settlement with the family.

Mrs Runkee said it took nearly two hours for a radiographer to arrive once it was realised the needle might still have been inside Mr Runkee.

"There was no radiographer present overnight and there is a stipulation that one should be in attendance within 30 minutes," she said.

Mrs Runkee said her husband "didn't want to die because he still had a lot of things he wanted to do".

She added: "All four of our kids have been left scarred and I have also been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which has escalated beyond belief because of the stress.

"Things will never be the same again."

Mrs Runkee said, in light of her family's experience, she thought the hospital was "not fit for purpose".

'Avoidable error'

Samantha Gardner, senior medical negligence solicitor at Hudgell Solicitors, which represented the Runkee family, called for "lessons to be learned".

She said: "This was a basic, avoidable error that should not have happened."

The trust spokesperson said it was "dedicated to continuously improving".

Castle Hill Hospital has on-site radiographer cover up until 20:00, the spokesperson said.

Between 20:00 and midnight, Hull Royal Infirmary provides cover, with a radiographer aiming to respond to call-outs within 30 minutes, they said.

The spokesperson said the journey usually takes 19 minutes, but due to "unusually heavy traffic conditions" on the day Mr Runkee had his first operation it actually took one hour and 11 minutes for the first scan to be taken.

The trust denied that the operation to retrieve the needle had impacted Mr Runkee's recovery.

Mrs Runkee said her husband had been "very fit and enthusiastic" and taught special needs children and later post graduate students.

In June, the BBC revealed Castle Hill Hospital was at the centre of a police investigation into deaths of patients following heart operations.

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