Mastectomy scandal: NHS trust to review 4,500 cases after serious breast cancer treatment failings
A hospital trust is to review some 4,500 cases dating back more than a decade after hundreds of women were found to have suffered harm in breast cancer treatment, including unnecessary surgeries.
Bosses at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust made the announcement at an extraordinary board meeting today and offered "sincere" apologies for the failings and harm caused.
This came after a BBC investigation, published last week, found that 20 women had had unnecessary mastectomies when being treated for breast cancer at the trust.
So far, County Durham and Darlington has reviewed more than 500 cases and found that at least 321 patients suffered harm, with 77 of those experiencing significant harm.
One patient is known to have died, while others had their cancer diagnoses missed or delayed leading to the spread of the disease.
Now the trust is set to review some 4,500 cases dating back to 2015.
At the extraordinary meeting, board chair Alison Marshall said: "I would like to offer a sincere apology to all the women and their families who have been affected by the failings in our breast services.
"I can't imagine the impact that has had."
She said the review would "not turn back the clock" but the trust would be "open, honest and transparent", the BBC reported.
Chief nurse Gill Hunt told the meeting that concerns were first raised in 2015 following a “service configuration”.
Bodies including NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and the Northern Cancer Alliance all raised issues, while solicitors such as Switalskis and Hudgell have represented patients.
Ms Hunt said that excessive surgery and delayed diagnosis were the main issues.
Chief executive Steve Russell, who was appointed last year, issued an apology to
women and families “harmed and let down by failings” in its care.
He said that this could never undo the “distress, uncertainty and harm” they had experienced, but the trust would “support women who have been impacted”, including by offering breast reconstruction surgery to those who have had unnecessary mastectomies.
Mother-of-two Denise Howarth, 51, of Consett in County Durham, was diagnosed with stage one cancer in her left breast in February 2023.
She had treatment but was told at a follow-up review that she still needed a mastectomy.
Ms Howarth, represented by Hudgell Solicitors, was then contacted last September.
“They called me at home to say I needn’t have had my breast removed and it was something which really knocked me off my feet, I was completely shocked,” she said.
“You put your trust in professional people. To be so badly let down is something I’ll never be able to come to terms with.”
The Trust has said it is co-operating with Durham Constabulary who are looking into what happened.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “What has happened in Durham is deeply distressing and we are profoundly sorry to all the women who have been affected.
“No one should undergo a mastectomy, or any other major treatment, unless it is genuinely required, and every patient must be able to trust that the care they receive is safe, effective, and consistent with their diagnosis.
"Patients and families deserve answers about how these failings happened and confidence that every necessary lesson will be learned.
“The Trust is working to establish the full facts and identify everyone who may have been affected, and it is right that it is expanding the scope of its review. We will continue to monitor that work closely, ensure it is completed as quickly as possible, and assess what further action is needed once its findings are known."