Twenty women underwent mastectomies unnecessarily while being treated for breast cancer, an NHS trust in north-east England has told the BBC. They were among hundreds of patients who came to harm during treatment at the breast unit of the County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust (CDDFT). The admission comes in the wake of revelations about serious failures in the unit, as reported by the BBC last year.
Steve Russell, who has recently taken over as CDDFT's chief executive, says he apologises "unreservedly" for the harm the trust caused. "There are no words I could use to convey how personally distressed I am," he says. "What happened was utterly unacceptable." Dozens of affected women and their families contacted us after we reported concerns about serious failings at the trust's breast cancer unit.
These included: A high number of mastectomies compared with other NHS trusts Operations that were carried out "too quickly" Outsourcing of some treatment to private clinics run by the trust's breast cancer clinical lead - an arrangement that one independent expert said created "a clear conflict of interest Patients described the shock they had felt on being told a mastectomy (the removal of all or part of a breast) could have been avoided, as well as the psychological and physical pain that many still live with. We also met former patients who have come together to support each other and call for a public inquiry. CDDFT is now carrying out an internal review of breast cancer cases between January 2023 and February 2025, alongside the cases of 640 former patients who contacted a dedicated helpline.
Of 514 cases reviewed by the trust so far, 315 patients have been found to have suffered harm, including 77 who were significantly harmed. One patient is known to have died. It says that cases have also been identified where cancer diagnoses were missed or delayed.
Some of these patients subsequently saw their cancer spread. Russell has told BBC's Today programme that the trust will meet in the coming week to decide whether to extend the scope of the review, and look at up to 10,000 cases dating back as far as 2015. He says the trust has been taking advice from patients' groups, clinical experts and legal representatives, and it will have to take "a really balanced view".
Any decision, he adds, will be made public. The National Crime Agency says it is now working with Durham Police to investigate allegations by former patients and determine if any criminal offences have taken place. Breast Cancer Scandal: Exposing The Harm BBC health correspondent Sharon Barbour investigates a deepening breast cancer scandal in County Durham and hears from women whose mastectomies were unnecessary.
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