Blood tube left in Boston Pilgrim Hospital patient
A 79-year-old cancer patient at a Lincolnshire hospital was sent home with a blood transfusion tube still attached to his arm.
Michael Gurney, of Croft near Skegness, was given a transfusion on Wednesday at Boston Pilgrim Hospital but the tube, called a canula, was left in his arm.
His wife Cynthia called the hospital but was told to contact her GP to remove it.
A hospital spokesman apologised and said an investigation was under way.
Mr Gurney, who has prostate cancer, has to have blood transfusions every two weeks.
His wife said: "He arrived home at 9.40 in a taxi and he was very weak and distressed. He said 'I have a job for you to do - can you take this tube out of my arm?'"
The tube was removed on Thursday.
Mrs Gurney said she was "horrified" by the mistake and described the hospital's response as "pathetic".
Boston Pilgrim Hospital said in a statement: "We offer our sincere apologies to Mr Gurney however we cannot comment on individual patient cases
"We are looking into what happened during the process of Mr Gurney's care and will contact him directly to discuss this."
In 2011, Boston Pilgrim Hospital was the subject of an investigation by the Care Quality Commission which raised concerns about the quality of patient care.
A report published in November outlined 21 separate recommendations.