SURGEONS at the Royal Bolton Hospital are being investigated after a botched hip replacement operation.

In one of two "never events" – defined by the Department of Health as serious incidents which are wholly preventable but which have the potential serious patient harm or death – they gave a patient the wrong-sized hip joint. The other involved the wrong tooth being removed from a patient.

The patients involved have not been identified and it is not clear if either are taking any action against the hospital.

The trust has now asked the Royal College of Surgeons to conduct an independent review into how the surgical failures occurred.

A spokesman for the RCS said this was only the second time it had ever been involved in a review at the Royal Bolton Hospital – the first was a review of an individual surgeon in 2000 which was unrelated to these more recent incidents.

Both operations took place at the hospital between March 28 and April 22 and related to surgical procedures.

Heather Edwards, head of communications at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said: “The two never events involved two different theatre teams and neither patient came to harm.

“However, we have asked for an independent review so that we can see if there were any factors in common and so that we can learn from the events.

“Findings from our inquiries will be shared with the patients.”

A hip replacement is carried out either under a general anaesthetic or an epidural, where only the lower body is numbered.

During the 60 to 90-minute procedure a surgeon makes an incision into the hip, removes the damaged joint and replaces it with an artificial joint.

The prosthetic parts, which come in many different sizes, usually use high-density plastic for the socket and a metal alloy ball and shaft but sometimes are made of ceramic.

In her summary to the trust’s board on April 30, chief executive Jackie Bene described the never events as “unfortunate”.

Her report states: “Following discussions at the quality assurance committee, the Royal College of Surgeons will be contacted with a view to commissioning an independent review.

“This review will be supported by an internal audit review.

“There was also one serious incident relating to delayed treatment in community services. This follows one of the two red-rated complaints reported this month.”

NHS guidelines state that never events are wholly preventable because safety recommendations, which should be implemented by all healthcare providers, provide strong barriers.

The spokesman for the RCS said: “Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has approached the RCS to ask us to help them by undertaking an invited review of their surgical services.

“We are working with them to take this forward.

“Our invited reviews enable expert teams, including a lay person who represents patients and the public interest, to determine whether there is cause for concern about surgical practice and to make recommendations for improvement.

“Our unwavering commitment to patient care is why we offer trusts an invited review service.”

The spokesman could not confirm whether the review would examine individuals or services as a whole but said the RCS was currently discussing the details with the trust. The number of invited reviews the RCS undertakes each year nationally averages about 25, but can vary.

Another never event, involving the wrong implant being inserted into a patient during surgery, was reported by the trust at its board meeting this March.

Health watchdogs began investigating another never event in January last year, which related to surgery carried out on the wrong part of the body in summer, 2013. There were 11 of this type of incident recorded across Greater Manchester between April, 2013 and January last year.

In February, 2013, The Bolton News revealed that three more never events were being investigated after women who had given birth at the Royal Bolton had swabs left inside them.