Mix-up in surgery led to eye damage

An independent inquiry was commissioned by East Sussex, Brighton & Hove Health Authority after 20 patients were wrongly injected with eye drop solution methyl cellulose, designed only for external use, at Surrey's BUPA Gatwick Park Hospital in February (News, March 26). According to the report, 11 patients have since made a full recovery, while two have undergone corneal grafts to repair the damage caused by the eye drops. Although inquiry chairman John Wells-Thorpe described the labelling of the eye drops as 'totally inadequate', he criticised the failure of both the surgeon and nurses involved to notice that they were marked for 'external use only'. The surgeon and the Gatwick Park team had not worked together before. 'There was an absence of any kind of malice involved here. This entire event was the result of a misunderstanding,' he said. Mr Wells-Thorpe also called for improved postoperative care at the hospital in accordance with Royal College of Ophthalmologists' guidelines, as an examination that might have picked up early signs of damage within hours was not carried out.