Questions have been asked after part of a needle was left inside a patient for more than two months after they had surgery at Medway Maritime Hospital.

The details emerged in the latest serious incident report presented to the board of the troubled NHS Foundation Trust.

The patient, who has not been identified, had undergone surgery for a fractured shoulder.

The end of a needle used to stitch wounds was only discovered nine weeks later during an X-ray.

The report stated: “Intra-operative images did not identify the needle tip and it was not noticed during the needle count and sign out procedure.

“A rapid review meeting has been undertaken and investigation team identified to complete a full report.”

The mistake was one of five serious incidents reported at the hospital in September, including two elderly patients who suffered fractures because of a fall and two others with pressure ulcers.

One of the patients who suffered a fall was a woman who was placed in a single-bed side room where the call bell did not work.

She fell and broke her hip while trying to get to the toilet by herself because she could not call for help.

Dr Andrew Burnett, chairman of the Quality Assurance Committee, raised concerns about the trust’s “continuing failure” to make adequate progress in areas such as falls, pressure ulcers and addressing safety issues.

He said: “As we have noted before, staffing levels of appropriately qualified staff are a key aspect of this. Activity is required to recruit and to retain staff.”

The board was told staffing at the hospital, which was placed in special measures last year, continued to remain a “challenge” and nursing vacancies remain high.

The trust is now attending recruitment fairs for the first time in five years in an attempt to bolster staff numbers.

There are currently 43 ‘open’ serious incidents at Medway.

Gordon Henderson MP, who hasn’t seen the report, described the incident as “worrying”.

He said: “We know there’s a problem at Medway Maritime Hospital and I’m very concerned about the level of incidents being reported.

“I’ve met with the current deputy chief executive on two occasions this year to discuss with him what actions the hospital are taking to improve the situation.

“Any reports of incidents like this have to raise concerns in our minds because it could be or you walking around with a needle stuck in us but it’s not the first time this has happened at a hospital.

"With thousands of operations taking place up and down the county there will be mistakes, doctors and surgeons are only human.

“I will be interested to see the report into how it happened and what steps will be taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”