Over a dozen patients ‘woke up during surgery’

More than a dozen Irish patients have woken up or been conscious but unable to move during surgery in the past year because anaesthetic drugs failed to work.

The incidents — which have led to post-traumatic stress and a small number of lawsuits — will be revealed later today as part of the largest ever probe into the issue.

According to a three-year joint study by the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, between 2011 and 2014, more than 300 people suffered “accidental awareness” during surgery across both countries.

Of this figure, approximately a dozen cases occurred in Ireland over a single 12-month period examined.

The incidents include people who woke up during operations despite being given a powerful general anaesthetic; those who were conscious but due to the use of muscle relaxants could not move; and others who woke up as they were being brought to the operating theatre.

Among the experiences felt by patients who woke up during surgery include paralysis, severe pain, choking and their skin being stitched back together, with those undergoing heart, lung and c-section operations most at risk.

This is because these procedures are more likely to require the use of paralysing muscle relaxant drugs in combination with general anaesthetists — a mixture which can result in a patient being unable to tell a surgeon the anaesthetic has not worked and was involved in 90% of the cases examined.

While the experts behind the study said most of the “episodes” were short-lived, they noted 41% led to “long-term psychological harm” and “post-traumatic stress disorders” for the individuals involved — with 5% resulting in legal action.

College of Anaesthetists of Ireland president, Dr Ellen O’Sullivan, said that — at one case out of every 19,000 surgeries — the number of incidents uncovered by the audit is lower than previously suggested.

However, she stressed the Department of Health must still take action to address the “most feared” complication in surgery by introducing a “simple” anaesthesia checklist at the start of every operation to ensure the patient has been given the correct dosage.

Last month, the groups behind the new research warned that a long-term failure to ensure Ireland has enough anaesthetists in its hospitals is increasing the risk of serious medical mistakes during surgery.

They said that Irish anaesthetists are being “overstretched” compared to their British counterparts due to serious staff shortages which mean they perform 60% more procedures than NHS staff.

While a number of reports have been drawn up by the Department of Health to address the issue, the groups said “none have been fully implemented”.