Swindon hospital left surgical sponge inside patient

A surgical sponge was left inside a patient during an operation, a hospital has confirmed.

The "very rare" error was made at Great Western Hospital, Swindon when the male patient was having 10 teeth extracted.

​The trust that runs the hospital said the item was retrieved while the anaesthetised man was in recovery, causing no physical harm.

The matter has been referred to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the health watchdog Monitor.

A CQC spokesman said: "We would expect the trust to look into the circumstances of the incident to ensure that it never happens again."