Drill and broken cables left in South Tees patients’ post-op

Errors which led to surgical items, including a piece of broken drill, being left inside patients after operations cost the hospital trust more than £287,000.

Six patients made claims to South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the five years to April 2024, NHS Resolution figures show.

The trust spent £287,109 dealing with the claims, including £148,546 in compensation, with the remainder spent on legal costs.

University Hospitals Tees, the group representing the trust, said cases were rare but when they occurred they worked “openly and honestly” with patients and their families.

A spokesperson added: “This allows us to make significant improvements to patient safety processes for the future.”

So-called retained foreign objects also included guide wires, surgical swabs and skin clips.

South Tees Hospitals operates James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, along with primary care hospitals in Redcar and Brotton.

Elsewhere in the region, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, which runs hospitals in Stockton and Hartlepool, received fewer than five compensation claims during the period covered by the investigation. according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The trust did not provide details on the number of incidents involved or the amount of damages paid.

The figures, requested by specialist law firm Medical Negligence Assist, show trusts across England paid out £14.8 million in damages over the five-year period, with 556 successful claims.