Equipment left inside patient during prostate surgery

The trust runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (pictured) and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital

A piece of equipment was left inside a patient during surgery at a Shropshire hospital, a report has revealed.

The patient was undergoing prostate surgery when the incident happened, a report to Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) said.

The error went unnoticed as theatre staff failed to follow a theatre count policy and the patient was left suffering increased pain and anxiety.

Several actions have been taken since the investigation, the report said.

The patient was undergoing a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), an operation to cut away a section of the prostate, when the device used to carry out the procedure, called a resectoscope, broke.

The incident was classed as a "never event", the name given to incidents that are considered so serious they should never happen, the report said, stating that it was one of 12 incident investigations to be completed in May and June.

"When the piece of equipment was thought to be lost, the correct procedure, as per the trust's theatre count policy, was not adhered to," the report said.

The report will be discussed on Thursday

The mistake also led to the patient having to have a catheter in for longer than would otherwise have been necessary.

Extra training has since been given to staff, ensuring all theatre staff are aware of the correct process to follow regarding lost equipment.

Other incident investigations concluded in May and June included a delayed lung cancer diagnosis, which "likely caused [the patient's] disease to progress which limited his treatment options and impacted his prognosis".

Overcrowding in A&E and a delay in diagnosis in another case "led to a deterioration in the patient condition resulting in cardiac arrest" although the patient's death could not have been prevented.

The report will be discussed at a meeting of the trust's board on Thursday.