A patient's knee replacement surgery was dramatically cancelled as she lay in the operating theatre because there was no clean surgical equipment available. Sally-Ann Pyrah-Barnes, 68, had been on the ward for approximately 18 hours before being taken to the anaesthetic room. An anaesthetist was preparing to administer a spinal injection when the surgeon entered and instructed staff to halt the procedure.
Sally-Ann was informed that the operation could not proceed because the equipment that had been prepped for her surgery had not been sterilised correctly. She described her devastation at the last-minute cancellation, which occurred at 3pm on April 8. She was subsequently rebooked for two weeks later and underwent a successful double knee replacement.
Incident at St Woolos Orthopaedic Unit
The incident took place at St Woolos orthopaedic unit in Newport, South Wales. This comes after a series of dirty equipment blunders at the same health board. Last month, eight patients were sent home from the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport due to a lack of clean surgical instruments. Additionally, in February, 21 patients underwent operations with unsterilised tools, and were only informed three weeks later when offered tests for HIV and other viruses.
Sally-Ann expressed her frustration, saying: "I was devastated. It's a bit different from other times when you're cancelled if you're at home. But to actually be in hospital, and I'd been in and out for nearly 18 hours, and then to be sent home was just ridiculous." She is considering making a formal complaint after speaking with director of nursing Jennifer Winslade, and her priority is ensuring quality control systems are implemented to prevent similar issues.
Health Board Response
A petition has been launched calling for an independent review of leadership and culture at the health board. A spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: "We are aware of this incident and have previously been in direct contact with the patient to resolve their complaint and offer our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this caused. During final checks before the operation, an issue was identified with a specialist piece of equipment needed for the procedure, which meant the decision was taken to postpone the surgery in the interests of patient safety. No treatment had begun at the time and no other patients were affected. This was an isolated issue affecting a specific piece of equipment and the problem has since been investigated and resolved. The patient was rebooked promptly and has since had their surgery completed successfully."
