'Brutal knife attack' victim operated on 36 times

A man in his 20s had to be operated on 36 times after being stabbed, a leading surgeon has said.

Adam Brooks, based at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, said complications led to the patient having organs removed and developing sepsis.

Mr Brooks, who said the man's life would "never be the same", was speaking as part of a campaign to warn of the dangers of carrying knives.

Nottinghamshire Police said it was working to drive down knife crime.

Mr Brooks, who is a clinical director for the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre, said the victim, from Nottinghamshire, was bought in for treatment after being stabbed three times in a "brutal attack" last year.

"He needed multiple operations, 36 in total, which resulted in removal of organs and multiple trips back due to other complications such as bleeding and sepsis," he said.

"He was in hospital for more than three months... and had over 100 units of blood over the period.

"That young man's life will never be the same again - it has changed forever."

Mr Brooks, who also sits on the board of the county's Violence Reduction Unit, said the regional trauma centre saw "a tremendous surge" in knife violence last year after lockdown restrictions eased.

"We went from seeing a really serious injury once every three days to once a day," he said.

"As the warm weather comes and lockdown eases, last year showed us there was a tremendous surge and we're bracing ourselves for the same."

He added extra staff were on standby "if the worst should happen".

He said although knife crime was falling in Nottinghamshire, it was important not to be complacent.

"I think it's really important to be frank. People die from knife wounds on a daily basis across the whole country," he said.

"There's no such thing as a safe place to stab someone."

Nottinghamshire Police said they were carrying out community weapons sweeps and patrols as part of Operation Sceptre, a national move to reduce knife crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Gerard Milano said the force was "still working relentlessly... to drive down violent crime even further and keep people safe".

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