Forceps are left inside patient

A nurse from Kidderminster suffered in agony after a 7-inch set of forceps were left inside her following a routine operation.

Donna Bowett, aged 39, says she was left in "horrendous pain" by the error after undergoing surgery to remove her gall bladder at Redditch's Alexandra Hospital last year.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which is now facing legal action from Ms Bowett, has issued an unreserved apology and bosses say they have since taken a number of steps to imp-rove safety standards.

Ms Bowett, who works at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester, told a national newspaper she underwent an MRI scan before the forceps were finally revealed by an X-ray.

The mother-of-four said: "I could hardly move, I was in so much pain. The doctors thought I had a water infection or another gall stone."

She added: "I still can't believe it's happened in this day and age. I was so ill and grey. I'm still not right. It might have damaged my internal organs. "

In a statement, the chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, John Rostill, said: "We would like to apologise unreservedly to Ms Bowett for any pain or distress she has suffered.

"We strive to provide the safest, highest quality care possible for all our patients, and in the 12 months since this extremely unusual incident we have taken a number of steps to further improve standards of safety."

The matter is currently the subject of a claim brought by her solicitors and it would be inappropriate for us to comment further in those circumstances "

Figures released earlier this year reported 533 NHS patients across the country have had equipment such as swabs, clips, needles and gauze left inside them following operations since 2005.