Hospitals remove hundreds of foreign objects from patients' rectums

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 17 Oct, 13:20 · Archive

British hospitals have removed hundreds of foreign objects from patients' rectums, including Lego bricks, TV remotes and door handles.

Hospitals across Britain have removed hundreds of foreign objects from patients' rectums since 2022, according to data released following Freedom of Information requests sent by the Press Association to hospital trusts nationwide.

Medical staff at hospitals in Lewisham and Greenwich in south London retrieved Lego bricks in balloons, beer bottles, shampoo bottles, a toothbrush and a door handle. Hospitals in the Birmingham area recorded multiple visits to remove items including a phone and a coat hanger. In Berkshire, staff removed a Nerf bullet, boiled egg, Coke can, potato, a deodorant bottle and toilet brush handle in a single case.

Other items requiring removal included TV remotes, children's toys, cocktail stirrers, bank cards, metal screws, tweezers, razor blades, knitting needles, knives, paper clips, screwdrivers, snow globes, branches, candles and wallpaper scrapers. Edible objects removed included cucumbers, courgettes, grapes and apples. Data analysed showed that in 2022 more than 1,500 people attended A&E for rectal foreign bodies.

Chris Nordstrom, an A&E consultant at Northwick Park Hospital in north-west London, told the Press Association: 'Thankfully, incidents of this kind are relatively uncommon but, when they do occur, our priority is to provide safe, compassionate and non-judgmental care.'

How it is being reported

• Lego bricks, TV remotes and a snowglobe are among the thousands of items removed from people's bottoms in Britain's hospitals, survey showsMedical staff at hospitals in Lewisham and Greenwich, had to remove Lego bricks in balloons, beer and shampoo bottles, a toothbrush, door handle and vape from patients' rectums.Daily Mail · 17 Oct, 13:04
• London hospitals reveal bizarre ‘foreign objects’ removed from bottomsHospitals in London had to remove Lego bricks in balloons, beer and shampoo bottles, a toothbrush and a door handle from patients’ rectumsEvening Standard · 17 Oct, 10:05
• TV remotes and Lego among ‘foreign objects’ hospitals removed from bottomsHospitals in the Birmingham area recorded multiple attendances to remove carrots, as well as a phone and a coat hanger.Evening Standard · 17 Oct, 09:00

In this story: Press Association · Lewisham and Greenwich hospitals · Birmingham hospitals · Berkshire hospitals · Northwick Park Hospital · Chris Nordstrom · London · Britain

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem