Twenty women had breasts removed needlessly, says NHS trust
County Durham breast care review finds hundreds of patients were harmed
Ninoda.com – An NHS trust in north-east England has said that 20 women received mastectomies that were not needed while undergoing breast cancer treatment, amid a wider review that has identified harm affecting hundreds of patients.
County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust is examining treatment provided by its breast unit after serious concerns emerged about care. The trust has reviewed 514 cases so far and concluded that 315 patients experienced harm. Within that figure, 77 people were found to have been significantly harmed, while one patient is known to have died.
The review is focused on breast cancer cases treated from January 2023 to February 2025, as well as 640 former patients who contacted a dedicated helpline. Missed and delayed cancer diagnoses have also been identified. In some instances, the trust says, the disease later spread.
A decision is expected shortly on whether the inquiry should go further back, potentially to 2015. Such an extension could require as many as 10,000 medical records to be reopened and assessed.
Trust chief executive apologises
Steve Russell, the trust’s recently appointed chief executive, has offered an apology to the women and families affected. He described the failures as intolerable and said he was personally upset by the consequences for patients.
“There are no words I could use to convey how personally distressed I am.”
“What happened was utterly unacceptable.”
For patients, the impact extends well beyond a clinical decision recorded in a medical file. A mastectomy involves removal of all or part of a breast and can bring lasting physical, emotional and psychological consequences. Several women have described the distress of learning years later that another treatment option could have been available.
Some former patients have formed support networks, sharing their experiences and urging authorities to hold a public inquiry into what happened at the unit.
Women describe shock after being contacted
Denise Howarth, 51, from Consett in County Durham, is among the women told that her breast was removed unnecessarily. She was diagnosed in 2023 with grade 1 breast cancer, a type described as slow growing, after finding a lump.
Her treatment involved a lumpectomy, followed by a mastectomy, eight rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In September 2025, she received a call from the NHS and later a letter from the trust explaining that she could have been offered a second lumpectomy instead of complete breast removal. That possibility had not been discussed with her at the time.
“I was just in shock, then ended up in tears on the phone.”
Denise said an apology could not undo the operation or restore what she had lost. Her experience underlines why the review is not only considering whether treatment was technically appropriate, but also whether patients were given adequate information about the choices available to them.
Another former patient, identified only as Jo, contacted the helpline over a mastectomy she underwent in 2021. Earlier this year, she says she was informed in a phone call that the procedure might have been avoidable.
Having previously worked for the NHS, Jo said she had trusted the people responsible for her care. She now feels “mutilated” by the outcome and considers the errors made in her case deeply unacceptable.
“You go to work to do your best, don’t you? So why would I think that anybody else wouldn’t?”
“Absolutely unforgivable.”
Questions over clinical leadership and private arrangements
The consultant overseeing the care of both Denise and Jo was Mr Amir Bhatti, who served as the trust’s clinical lead for breast services between 2013 and 2024. He has been suspended from clinical practice, although he remains employed by the trust on full pay.
Concern has also been raised about payments made by the trust to private breast cancer diagnostic clinics and surgical companies run by Mr Bhatti. Nearly £6m was paid over six years.
A 2025 governance review of the trust, conducted by specialist Mary Aubrey, examined how the organisation was run. It raised concerns that outsourcing patient appointments could create financial incentives that may pose a risk to clinical standards.
Russell has said that payment by service is not unusual within healthcare, but the arrangement has intensified scrutiny of how decisions were made, how appointments were allocated and whether systems were sufficiently robust to protect patients.
Police and National Crime Agency involvement
The National Crime Agency is now working with Durham Police to examine allegations raised by former patients and to establish whether any criminal offences may have occurred. That work is separate from the trust’s internal clinical review.
The expanding examination of breast care at County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust has significant implications for patients who were treated over a long period. Those contacted through the helpline or review process may be seeking answers about diagnoses, surgery, follow-up care and whether they were properly involved in decisions affecting their bodies.
For the women already told that their surgery may have been avoidable, the review represents an acknowledgement of harm, but not a resolution. Their calls for accountability reflect the scale of the personal consequences and the need for clear answers about how such failures were allowed to happen.
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