State Officials Hit Oxnard Hospital With $40,400 Fine After Needle Is Left In Patient’s Body
Officials said the doctor and the operating room staff at St. John’s Regional Medical Center didn’t follow policies that include accurate counts of surgical instruments and X-rays to make sure objects aren’t left in patients.
Ventura County Star:
Oxnard Hospital Fined For Needle Left In Patient After Surgery
A nearly 3-inch-long metal needle was left in a woman’s abdominal tissue during a 2014 open-heart surgery at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, triggering a $40,400 fine, state officials said this month. The needle broke just underneath the skin during a difficult operation that lasted several hours and involved dozens of needles and wires, said surgeon Dr. Bruce Toporoff. He described the incident as minor. But California Department of Public Health officials classified the error as carrying the potential to cause serious injury or death and said their first concern was to make sure such an incident doesn’t happen again. They said the needle was finally removed more than seven months after surgery when the patient came to St. John’s emergency room complaining of a burning pain. (Kisken, 12/19)