Lothian NHS Board

Lothian NHS Board

Dear

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – SURGICAL ERRORS

Waverley Gate

2-4 Waterloo Place

Edinburgh

EH1 3EG

Telephone 0131 536 9000

Fax 0131 536 9088

www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk

Date 09/07/12

Our Ref 3154

Enquiries to Richard Mutch

Extension 35687

Direct Line 0131 465 5687

Email richard.mutch@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk

I write in response to your request for information in relation to surgical errors in the last three

years.

I have been provided with information to help answer your request by Miss Tracey Gillies,

Associate Divisional Medical Director - NHS Lothian.

Question:-

• How many surgical errors occurred during each of the last three financial years? If possible, I’d

be grateful if you could also provide a breakdown by type of error.

By surgical error I mean things like:

o Unintentional cut, puncture, perforation or haemorrhage during surgical operation

o Foreign body accidentally left in body during surgical operation

o Failure of sterile precautions during surgical operations

o Failure in suture or ligature during surgical operations

o Performance of inappropriate operation

Answer:-

Type of Error Requested

Unintentional cut, puncture, perforation or haemorrhage during

surgical operation

Surgical Errors 2009,

2010 and 2011

Foreign body accidentally left in body during surgical operation 12

Failure of sterile precautions during surgical operations

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3154

To protect the identity of the individuals involved any figure of 5 or less has not been shown in

the table above. Since we do not have their consent to release this data from their records, the

information is exempt under section 38 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act i.e. to

provide it would breach the 7 th Principle of the Data Protection Act 1998.

I hope this information helps with your request.

If you are unhappy with our response to your request, you do have the right to request us to review

it. Your request should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this letter, and we will reply

within 20 working days of receipt. If our decision is unchanged following a review and you remain

dissatisfied with this, you then have the right to make a formal complaint to the Scottish Information

Commissioner.

If you require a review of our decision to be carried out, please write to Mr I Whyte, FOI Reviewer

at the address at the foot of this letter. The review will be undertaken by Mr Whyte as he was not

involved in the original decision making process.

FOI responses (subject to redaction of personal information) may appear on NHS Lothian’s

Freedom of Information website at :-

http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/YourRights/FOI/Pages/default.aspx

Yours sincerely

ALAN BOYTER

Director of Human Resources

and Organisational Development

Cc: Interim Chief Executive