Never Events are known as serious incidents that are entirely preventable because guidance or safety recommendations providing strong systemic protective barriers are available at a national level and should have been implemented by all healthcare providers. They are essentially something that should never happen but sadly, they still do and at a shockingly high rate. Between April 2024 and January 2025, 334 patients have suffered never events, including:

• Removal of the wrong limb
• Removal of the wrong organ
• Operation on the incorrect patient
• Operation on the incorrect part of the body
• Leaving tools in the patients’ bodies.

NHS England has provided their data for the number of serious medical mistakes made and they have named and shamed the worst culprits for never events. The Hospitals that have had the most incidents are:

NHS Trust	Number of Never Events
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust	11
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust	9
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust	8
University Hospital Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust	8
Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust	7
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust	7
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust	7
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	6
East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust	6
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	6
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust	6

 

The most common never event recorded is “wrong site surgery” meaning that medical professionals have removed the wrong body part or even operated on the wrong patient. This was recorded at 151 mistakes across April 2024 to January 2025, 9 being on the wrong patient and 32 being on “the wrong side of the body”, i.e. removal of left limb instead of right. There were even two incidents in which a patient had organs removed without any medical need.

This is followed by leaving items inside patients’ bodies including surgical gloves, scalpels and drill bits. This totalled 92 occurrences.

Some of the most shocking never events that have been recorded are:

• Kidney transplant with wrong blood type
• Kidney removed instead of the ovary
• Wrongly removing the ovaries
• Pacemaker given to the wrong patient
• Accidental circumcision
• Accidental testicle removal
• Laser procedure to the wrong eye
• Wrong rib removed
• Wrong tooth pulled out
• Custom cranial plate given to the incorrect patient

What is also concerning is that, back in 2014, the Health Secretary ordered hospitals to improve safety for patients and to take active steps to prevent never events occurring. Given the current high rates of never events, this clearly has not happened and patients are continuing to suffer wholly avoidable harm, which will in turn cause further cost to the NHS. Indeed, compensation for never-events costs the NHS an estimated £800million each year.

When never events occur, NHS England require them to be reported; there is a duty of candour, in which the healthcare provider is required to put their hands up and admit to their failings. There should also be internal investigations carried out to review what happened and why and identify steps that can be taken to minimise and prevent future never events from occurring.

If you or a loved one have suffered a never event and have suffered harm as a result of the same, you may be able to bring a claim for medical negligence. Our Medical Negligence team have extensive experience in representing individuals who have experienced negligent care and have secured substantial sums of compensation to help with their futures.