Operation in England: chest opened with pocket knife
October 2, 2024, 1:05 p.m
It had to be done quickly, apparently there wasn’t a scalpel to be found in the rush. Then a surgeon in England used a different device. It is not the first incident at the clinic to raise questions.
The British health service NHS is considered chronically overburdened and underfunded. (Archive image) © Dominic Lipinski/Press Association/dpa
A surgeon in England operated on him with a Swiss Army knife that he normally uses to cut apples. 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 would not have been 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.
“It surprises and appalls me,” Graeme Poston, a clinical negligence expert, told the public broadcaster. «First of all, a pocket knife is not sterile. Secondly, it is not a surgical instrument. And thirdly, all the equipment must have been there.”
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 avoidable deaths during operations and of a “climate of fear”. The British health service NHS is considered chronically overburdened and underfunded.
© dpa
