Lost suture needles and dropped surgical clips are both classified as NHS “never events”, but they raise very different clinical concerns and medicolegal questions. This article examines the distinction between unrecognised retention and conscious non‐retrieval, and sets out the five pillars of medicolegal defensibility.
Read full articleMartha’s Rule gives hospital inpatients a formal right to a second opinion when they believe deterioration is not being addressed. With over 10,000 calls and 446 potentially life‐saving interventions in its first sixteen months, the scheme is already reshaping how courts may assess the management of deteriorating patients.
Read full articleWhen severe inflammation obscures the biliary anatomy during cholecystectomy, the surgeon faces a critical decision. This article examines whether performing a subtotal cholecystectomy — rather than persisting with a total cholecystectomy — constitutes a departure from accepted surgical practice.
Read full article