Patient safety concerns rise following medical ‘never events’ in Wales and US

Serious patient safety incidents, known as ‘never events’, have been reported in two separate healthcare settings.

In North Wales, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board recorded 13 never events between August 2025 and July 2026, an increase from 11 in the previous year. These incidents included four cases of wrong-site surgery, five instances of retained foreign objects post-procedure, incorrect implants, and medication administration errors. The health board remains in special measures, facing challenges with clinical governance and over 5,500 open incidents.

In Nashville, Tennessee, a medication error at Ascension St. Thomas Hospital Midtown resulted in severe injury to four patients undergoing elective knee replacement surgery. Instead of the intended local anesthetic, potassium phosphate was injected into the spinal canal. The error caused excruciating pain and led to critical complications, including ongoing paralysis for three patients and one patient requiring ventilator support. The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission conducted an unannounced on-site survey following the hospital's self-reporting of the incident.