The doctor opened the chest with the multi-purpose utensil, the BBC reported. The patient survived the unusual operation. The clinic in the southern English city of Brighton spoke of an emergency. It was an urgent procedure and the doctor couldn’t find a sterile scalpel.
At the same time, the hospital emphasized that the surgeon’s actions “did not correspond to the usual procedure and were not necessary.” The BBC quoted internal documents saying that colleagues found the behavior “questionable” and were also very surprised that the doctor couldn’t find a scalpel. The clinic has already been criticized for numerous other incidents.
“Surprised and horrified me”
“It surprises and appalls me,” Graeme Poston, a clinical negligence expert, told the public broadcaster. “Firstly, a pocket knife is not sterile. Secondly, it is not a surgical instrument. And thirdly, all the equipment must have been present.”
According to the BBC, police are already investigating at least 105 cases of suspected medical negligence at the hospital operator and are considering manslaughter charges. There is talk of several preventable deaths during operations and of a “climate of fear”. The British health service NHS is considered chronically overburdened and underfunded.
