Cornwall heart patient had wire left in his arm for months

A man had a length of wire left in his arm for three months after a heart procedure in hospital.

David Fortes, 75, was left in "horrific" pain after surgery to insert a stent at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (RCHT) in Truro in April.

The 39cm (15ins) wire was not found until he went back to hospital after a heart attack in July.

RCHT listed it as a "never event" and apologised to Mr Fortes, adding that it had worked with him over his concerns.

Mr Fortes reported pain and discomfort in the weeks following his first surgery and was told it was likely to be tissue damage.

He was unable to bend his arm properly, and it swelled up and changed colour.

On 20 July the retired painter and decorator had a heart attack and while in hospital a scan picked up the wire in his arm.

He said: "I dread to think what would have happened if it had been left in for any longer."

Jodie Cook, a medical negligence lawyer from Simpson Millar Solicitors who is representing Mr Fortes, said the incident was "deeply concerning".

Mr Fortes said that while he was "sympathetic" to the pressure that the NHS has been under throughout the pandemic, he was also "deeply distressed" by the lack of follow-up care.

He said: "When things started to go wrong during my recovery, and the pain I was experiencing was getting quite horrific, I found it very difficult to find someone who would take my concerns seriously, and despite multiple attempts to see someone I was simply fobbed off."

RCHT medical director Dr Allister Grant apologised to Mr Fortes for not receiving "the high level of care we would have expected".

He said: "We have shared our report into what happened, and offered a meeting with a cardiologist of his choice.

"We want to understand what happened and we will improve our procedures and practices if we can."