The medical files of as many as 10,000 patients could be reopened by investigators after 20 women were found to have had unnecessary mastectomies in a breast cancer scandal engulfing the NHS.
A review of cases going back a decade found hundreds more came to harm after being treated at County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust (CDDFT).
Victims told how they were left in agonising pain after being ‘butchered’ and ‘mutilated’ by surgeons at the trust’s ‘dysfunctional’ breast cancer unit.
CDDFT is now carrying out an internal review of breast cancer cases dating from January 2023 to February 2025, alongside the cases of 640 former patients who have contacted a dedicated helpline.
Of the 514 cases reviewed so far, 315 women have been found to have suffered harm, including 77 who were significantly harmed. One patient is known to have died.
The trust says cases have been identified where patients had ‘excessive surgery’, were subjected to outdated practices or where cancer diagnoses were missed or delayed.
Some of these patients subsequently saw their cancer spread.
The trust’s board is scheduled to meet next week to decide whether to extend the scope of the review to look at up to 10,000 cases dating back as far as 2015.
Meanwhile, the National Crime Agency is working with Durham Police to investigate allegations by former patients and determine if any criminal offences took place.
Steve Russell, who became CDDFT’s chief executive last year, apologised ‘unreservedly’ for the harm caused.
Responding to the scandal, exposed by a BBC Local investigation, he added: ‘There are no words I could use to convey how personally distressed I am. What happened was utterly unacceptable.’
