The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has apologised to breast cancer patients, and their families, affected by the failings identified in an independent external review.

More than 200 cases are being investigated at the Trust, which runs nine hospitals in the county, and it is believed that 43 of those cases resulted in significant harm, with one death also being examined.

Medical negligence experts from Switalskis, who have dealt with multiple cases of breast cancer causing harm to patients, have described the news as ‘deeply worrying’ and have urged the Trust to work with patients as soon as possible, either to alleviate concerns or to support those who may have been affected.

‘Avoidable harm’ and ‘unnecessary procedures’

The review into County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s breast surgery services, conducted by governance specialist Mary Aubrey, began in July 2025.  The original review period was 2018 to 2024 but this was extended to cover 2012 to 2025.

The external review identified issues including:

• Patients experiencing avoidable harm due to outdated clinical practices, including delays in cancer diagnosis, unnecessary procedures and missed opportunities for appropriate treatment and patient safety.
• Patients underwent unnecessary procedures.  Some patients underwent axillary clearance (removal of lymph nodes from the armpit) and mastectomies (removal of one or both breasts) that were not clinically indicated, and excessive surgery resulting from poor diagnostics. 
• Many patients were not offered immediate reconstruction or informed of alternative options, leading to further emotional harm.

Previous concerns raised about the Trust

The latest investigations into the Trust’s Breast Surgery Services come after red flags were raised previously about the standard of care patients were receiving.

• In 2018, the Care Quality Commission raised formal concerns about the Breast Surgery Services. 
• In 2019, the national Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Breast Surgery report identified several areas needing improvement, particularly low rate of reconstructive surgery and high re-excision rates. 
• In March 2021, external consultant oncoplastic breast surgeons raised concerns about the high operative rate for benign cases.  The concerns were escalated to the Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA).
• In May 2021, the Trust conducted an internal audit on benign breast excisions, reviewing 1,352 cases between 2017 and 2019.  Interim findings revealed consistently high rates of benign excisions.  Contributing factors identified the absence of expertise within the Trust’s Radiology Service to use a mammotome biopsy device, and decisions made without complete diagnostic information. 
• And as recently as June 2024, The Northern Cancer Alliance Peer Review report identified multiple instances where care fell below expected standards, including unnecessary surgical procedures that caused physical and psychological harm, and clear non compliance with national guidance and best practice.  Despite these report findings, the Trust did not initiate formal patient safety incident investigations until 9 months later. 

‘Deeply worrying’: patients deserve answers, says medical negligence expert

Reacting to the news, Clare Thompson, a Director and Solicitor at Switalskis and head of the team for the North East, said:

“The stories we have seen so far of women affected by this failure in care at County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust make for very difficult reading. Every single one of these is the story of a patient harmed unnecessarily, often with very serious consequences for their health and their lives.

“It’s deeply worrying that this has been able to happen, especially given the history of concerns over breast surgery at this Trust. Patients who have undergone surgery deserve answers, support and transparency.

“They are entitled to know what went wrong and why and it’s also important that other women who may be due to undergo surgery at this Trust’s hospitals also are given reassurances that lessons have been learned and care has improved.”

Clare added: “Sadly, we have supported many patients after breast surgery and failures in care have led to significant harm for women. It is an incredibly sensitive issue and the consequences can be very serious indeed.”

What action is being taken by the Trust following the external investigation?

The Trust say that various actions have been taken and will be taken including making contact with breast surgery patients with a focus on patients treated in 2023 and particular attention given to higher risk patients who received Fine Needle Aspirations.

A patient helpline and dedicated email address is in place and through this the Trust has received confirmation of numerous experiences of poor care. 

The hospitals that form part of the Trust include:

·       Darlington Memorial Hospital

·       University Hospital of North Durham

·       Bishop Auckland Hospital

·       Chester-le-Street Community Hospital

·       Shotley Bridge Community Hospital

·       Sedgefield Community Hospital

·       Richardson Community Hospital

·       Weardale Community Hospital

·       Peterlee Community Hospital