Bristol dentist pulled out wrong tooth in medical blunder!

A dentist pulled out the wrong tooth, while doctors operated on the incorrect area of a patient's hand in a series of errors at the trust which runs the Bristol Royal Infirmary. The University Hospitals of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, which runs all of the city centre hospitals, has recorded two 'never events' since April.

These are serious blunders which should not occur if all proper procedures are followed, the trust said.

The first involved one patient, who was having multiple teeth removed, enduring an extra tooth at the back of their mouth being taken out unnecessarily. The patient was told about the mistake and offered to have the tooth re-implanted, but this was turned down.

A trust spokesman said: "During April and May, two events took place in our hospitals. One event took place in April and involved "wrong site surgery".

"During a multiple dental extraction, an additional tooth at the back of the mouth was removed instead of the adjacent one." He said a surgical safety checklist was completed prior to the treatment and the appropriate x-rays were on display.

He added: "The patient was informed of the error as soon as it was identified and an apology was given. Remedial treatment in the form of re-implanting the tooth was offered, but declined."

The following month another event was recorded at the same trust. This involved a patient having the ligament in their hands cut when they were supposed to be having surgery to release tension in their tendon.

A trust spokesman said: "A second 'wrong site surgery' event occurred in May, when an incorrect procedure was performed on a day- case patient. The patient was correctly identified and the correct hand operated on.

"However, the surgeon performed a carpal tunnel release instead of a De Quervain's release, a similar procedure. The patient was informed of the error as soon as it was identified and an apology was given. The patient elected to have the correct procedure the same day and it was performed uneventfully."

He added: "As we do with all serious incidents, the trust conducted a root cause analysis into both events to establish what happened, identify any learning and make recommendations for improvement actions."

Between April to May there were no similar events recorded at either North Bristol Trust, which runs Southmead Hospital, or at Weston Area Health NHS Trust, which run Weston-super-Mare's hospital.

This article is courtesy of the Bristol Post.