County Durham and Darlington hospital trust’s breast cancer patient apology

A hospital trust has apologised to patients who received care through its breast cancer service, after some received “more extensive surgery than was clinically necessary at the time”.

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust launched a review into its service following a patient safety incident earlier this year.

Kathryn Burn, executive director of nursing, said: “We fully recognise how distressing this is to hear, and we are truly sorry.”

The trust said it had appointed two new consultant breast surgeons, invested in modern equipment and strengthened both its multidisciplinary team processes and clinical governance arrangements following the review.

In response to the incident and wider concerns raised about breast care delivery, the trust and the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board commissioned the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) to carry out an independent review of the breast surgery service.

The RCS team visited the trust in January.

The trust, which operates the University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital, said it had identified areas where improvements were needed.

This included how surgical decisions were made and where some outdated practices were still in use.

Ms Burn said: “We know that some patients have not received the standard of care that we would want for them, or that they deserve.

“For some patients, this may have resulted in more extensive surgery than was clinically necessary at the time.”

She said in cases where there were concerns about individual care, patients would be contacted directly. Others whose care was reviewed and found to be appropriate are also being contacted to be offered reassurance, she added.

The report stated the trust had high rates of mastectomy and low rates for breast reconstruction.

It also noted performance of some procedures with only cosmetic value not funded by NHS England, which have since been stopped.

Since February, the trust has been reviewing the care of patients who had surgery through the breast service in 2024.

So far it has reviewed 123 cases of care and spoken to 80 patients about what could have been done differently.

“The review is still ongoing and we remain committed to speaking directly with any patient whose care warrants follow-up,” Ms Burn said.

“We also continue to welcome contact from any patient who has concerns about their experience.”

A helpline has been set up on 0191 333 2126 and patients can also email: cddft.breastservices@nhs.net