It has recently been reported by the Leicester Mercury that three ‘Never Events’ have occurred in the same month at Leicester Hospitals, all of which are run by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
‘Never Events‘ are defined as serious, entirely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if existing national guidance or safety recommendations have been implemented by healthcare providers. Each Never Event has the potential to cause serious patient harm or death. Every Never Event should act as a red flag that an organisation’s systems for implementing existing safety advice might not be robust.
Reports Of Never Events In Leicester Hospitals
It has recently come to light that in May, the following Never Events were reported within Leicester Hospitals:
- A wire was left in a patient who had suffered a cardiac arrest and had a catheter fitted
- Anaesthetic medication was incorrectly administered to a woman in labour.
- A nasogastric tube was wrongly placed in a patient who was brought into the Coronary Care Unit at Glenfield Hospital following a cardiac arrest.
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust states that in each case the patients were not harmed and immediate action was taken, including some systems being immediately changed.
It was previously reported that 314 incidents had taken place within the NHS as a whole between April and December 2016. Earlier this year, the Chief Executive of the Patients Association was reported as saying:
“…Never-Events are precisely that, events that should never, ever happen. The fact that they are occurring should ring alarm bells in Trusts, with Clinical Commissioning Groups and the Department of Health…”
Admission to hospital can be distressing enough without having to suffer the impact of a Never Event. Although in these cases patients were not harmed, each and every Never Event has the potential to cause serious harm and it is concerning that 3 such events have occurred within the same month in Leicester Hospitals. When something is entirely preventable, more should be done to reduce the likelihood of it occurring and it is now vital that the Trust take action as soon as possible.
How Can Nelsons Help?
Please contact our Medical Negligence team on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form for more information.