A BOTCHED operation that nearly led to the death of a drugs mule in a Camden police cell was not investigated by bosses at University College London Hospital, the New Journal has learned.
Drugs mule Anthony Johnson, 37, nearly died at Holborn police station last May after doctors at UCLH missed a leaky condom full of cocaine inside his stomach.
But despite a hospital policy that “reporting a ‘near miss’ event is as important as reporting incidents that actually occurred and caused harm”, Mr Johnson’s case was never probed, hospital bosses have admitted.
Chaos inside the trust’s top-rated management meant that only this week did it concede police had warned the operation had gone wrong nearly a year ago.
Red-faced chiefs have now launched a belated investigation after repeated enquiries by the New Journal.
Last month it emerged that Mr Johnson had been found collapsed on the floor of a cell by independent custody visitor Suzanne Idehen, 10 days after his arrest in Camden High Street.
Police had not noticed his rapidly deteriorating condition.
Medics at UCLH had earlier removed 59 cocaine-filled condoms from his stomach but missed the 60th. It was eventually removed in a second operation and Mr Johnson made a full recovery.
He was cleared of drug trafficking at trial in October after successfully arguing that he had been forced to carry the cocaine by dealers. Police chiefs have refused to release the results of an internal investigation into how Mr Johnson came so close to death, but say they did meet with a UCLH manager to share their concerns last May.
UCLH only admitted the meeting with police this week. A trust spokeswoman said: “We are investigating this case after the New Journal brought it to our attention. It is inappropriate for us to comment on the individual care of patients.
“However, we can confirm that as a result of concerns raised we are looking into the circumstances surrounding this case and are therefore unable to comment further at this stage.”