Twenty women had their breasts unnecessarily removed during NHS cancer care
Hundreds of women are understood to have been harmed while receiving treatment at an NHS breast unit in County Durham.
Twenty women had their breasts unnecessarily removed during cancer treatment at an NHS trust, according to a review into care at the breast unit.
The women were treated at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT), where an increasing number of patients are now understood to have endured invasive surgery they didn't need.
The trust is currently reviewing breast cancer cases dating from January 2023 to February 2025, as well as cases involving 640 former patients who contacted a dedicated helpline.
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According to information from the trust board, seen by PA, 539 cases had been reviewed as of 2 September. Of those, 59 were found to have resulted in moderate harm, 19 in severe harm and one patient died.
A further 242 cases were graded as involving minor harm.
The review has also identified cases where treatment did not follow best practice, including what the trust described as unnecessary surgery and 'outdated practice'.
Overall, 32 cases involved 'excessive surgery, such as mastectomy', with the trust confirming that 20 were not needed.
There were also 20 cases involving delayed diagnosis, which can allow cancer to spread.
One woman affected is 51-year-old mum-of-two Denise Howarth, from Consett, who was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in February 2023 and initially underwent a lumpectomy and removal of her lymph nodes.
She was later told she needed a mastectomy.
After undergoing the operation, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Denise was contacted by the trust in September last year and told that her breast did not need to have been removed.
She said the news 'knocked me off my feet', adding: "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."
Denise also said losing her breast had had a 'huge impact' on her confidence and described the experience as life-changing.
"An apology is not enough. This is life-changing," she hit out. "I feel robbed of the person I was before."
Another patient, Catriona Dunbar, 41, was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2023 and has also spoken about her treatment at the trust.
The trust has apologised to her for the 'significant distress and upset' caused during her care.
It said her treatment had 'fallen significantly short of the standards expected', including issues around informed consent, post-operative care and delays in confirming test results.
Catriona said the apology did not provide the accountability she wanted.
"It says things shouldn’t have happened, but there are no admissions as to why, or as to who was at fault," she added.
The trust has said significant changes have since been made to its breast service.
Chief executive Steve Russell said: "We are deeply sorry to the women and families who have been harmed and let down by failings in our breast services."
He added that the trust had identified opportunities where it 'should have listened more carefully and acted sooner'.
The trust's review is ongoing, and its board is due to meet in public on 24 September to decide whether to expand the investigation to include thousands more cases dating back to 2015.
The breast unit has also faced previous scrutiny.
A Royal College of Surgeons review highlighted what it described as outdated practices, alongside concerns about excessive or unnecessary surgery and weaknesses in the way breast cancer cases were discussed by multidisciplinary teams.
The trust has confirmed that consultant Amir Bhatti was its clinical lead for breast services from 2013 until 2024. His clinical practice is currently restricted while an internal investigation takes place.
Durham Police are also investigating what happened at the trust.
A separate BBC investigation previously reported that almost £6 million had been paid by the trust over six years to private breast cancer diagnostic and surgery companies run by Bhatti.
Bhatti has said he remains committed to the trust's investigation and that it would be inappropriate for him to comment while proceedings are ongoing.
A public meeting of the trust board is expected to provide the next update on the scope of the review on 24 September.
Topics: NHS, UK News, Women's Health, Health, Cancer
Rhianna Benson