A total of 60 patient safety incidents involving foreign objects left inside patients and requiring surgical removal have been reported to the National Patient Safety Agency since 2005. There was no central reporting system in place prior to 2003 and no such patient safety incidents were reported in 2003 and 2004. The detailed breakdown is in the following table:
Incidents—surgical removal of foreign objects 2005 9 2006 27 2007 19 2008 5 Source: National Patient Safety Agency