NHS trust to review 4,500 more breast cancer cases

How the breast cancer failings came to light

It is estimated that totals of hundreds of patients suffered harm under County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

This comes according to a review of cases dating back to 2023, with the trust's board now expanding that lookback to 2015.

The BBC has spoken to multiple women affected, including one who said she felt "mutilated" and that the trust's mistakes were "absolutely unforgivable".

Chair Alison Marshall apologised to those affected, saying: "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 added the trust could "not turn back the clock" but would be "open, honest and transparent" about what happened.

Chief nurse Gill Hunt told the board concerns were first raised in 2015, after a "service reconfiguration" led to a loss of breast surgical trainee posts.

In the years that followed, patients and bodies including the Northern Cancer Alliance, the Care Quality Commission and NHS England raised multiple issues, she said, with recurring themes of treatment "not aligned to best practice", excessive surgery and delayed diagnosis.

The trust's breast surgery lookback review began in April 2025, examining cases between January 2023 and February 2025.

Hunt told the board 538 cases had been reviewed so far, with 321 patients found to have experienced some form of harm, including one death.