Almost a fortnight after an operation was conducted in full view of visitors and other patients, Epsom Hospital has said it will be a further six weeks before it can reveal the "full facts" about what happened.
Last week, the Epsom Guardian revealed how a horrified Claire Walsh, 38, witnessed an operation taking place in a building opposite the Wells Wing of the hospital as the blinds of the room had been left open.
Miss Walsh, a care assistant from Tattenham Corner, said she, three other visitors and a patient on Buckley Ward all saw surgeons operating on a patient, and her concerns were dismissed by a nurse on the ward, who said "it happens all the time".
She insisted that the patient she saw was naked, although the hospital has spoken to the surgical team and said it is confident that the patient was not naked.
Epsom Hospital said the blind had not been closed after the window was cleaned, that it had apologised the patient affected, and launched a "thorough and urgent investigation".
After the story was published the hospital revealed that another member of staff had overheard Miss Walsh’s concerns and the window of the operating theatre was quickly covered with foil and later frosted over.
It also confirmed that the operation had not taken place in the Day Case Unit, where Miss Walsh believed it had been.
But asked on Tuesday whether it had yet found out how long the blinds in the operating theatre had been open, how many patients may have been observed during operations and what action had been taken against the staff involved, a hospital spokesman said it could not give any further information until the investigation is completed.
The Epsom Hospital site
They said: "We can’t give you any further details until the investigation is complete and the full facts of the matter have been determined.
"The investigation is still ongoing, and we expect it to be concluded in approximately six weeks.
"But as you know, we did take immediate steps to rectify the problem and get assurances from clinical teams across our hospitals that a similar incident couldn’t happen elsewhere.
"We can confirm that these assurances have been provided, and where necessary, action taken to help prevent this, or something similar, occurring again."
On Monday a worried patient telephoned the Epsom Guardian concerned that she was the patient who had been seen by Miss Walsh.
She said: "It is horrific. I was having a minor operation in the Day Case Unit that Friday afternoon.
"Then I saw the story in the Epsom Guardian. My first thought was please don’t let it have been me. I am so glad it wasn’t."
Have you had an operation at Epsom Hospital recently? Contact Hardeep Matharu on the newsdesk by emailing hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk.
TODAY'S HEADLINES IN EPSOM AND EWELL
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