Amir Bhatti was the clinical lead at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s (CDDFT) breast cancer surgery service when watchdogs exposed a decade of missed warnings, ignored red flags, and ‘systemic failures’ which led to 51 women being ‘harmed’.

The highly-paid consultant was responsible for breast cancer surgery at the trust, and was also director of an outsourced private clinic, which an investigation revealed was paid a share of nearly £6 million over six years to treat women.

Mr Amir Bhatti (Image: SUPPLIED)

The Northern Echo revealed last week that police are now investigating the care given to women, and now almost 1,500 are under review.

But, despite the police and NHS probes, the trust confirmed that Mr Bhatti is still working under ‘restricted clinical duties’.

He is not seeing patients or providing any clinical care or treatment, but is still on his full salary, which, according to the NHS, can be up to £145,000.

Yvonne (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

One of Mr Bhatti’s former patients has said that she’s “shocked” that the NHS Trust are still employing the ex-clinical lead.

Yvonne, 85, from Belmont, Durham, claims she was forced to sit for hours in waiting rooms, despite having an appointment, and claims she was only seen for two minutes in total by Mr Bhatti.

“No one should go through the experiences I did, and the Trust, rightly, should be carrying out an investigation into everything that took place, but I’m completely shocked that he’s still working at the Trust,” Yvonne said.

Between 2022 and 2024, 8,000 of 13,500 referred breast cancer patients were seen in outsourced clinics operating on a “pay-per-patient” basis, through companies including Durham Surgical Services, of which Mr Bhatti was a director.

Mr Bhatti ran NHS “two-week-wait” clinics at Darlington Memorial Hospital, University Hospital North Durham, and Spire Hospital in Washington, through companies including Durham Surgical Services.

The front of Darlington Memorial Hospital (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

An investigation found the trust paid nearly £6 million over six years to private out-of-hours clinics, including a company that Mr Bhatti was a director of.

A spokesperson for Mr Bhatti previously said that “serving the best interests of all our patients is of paramount importance” and when things go wrong “, we learn from this and make the necessary changes and improvements”.

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that Dr Bhatti is still employed by the Trust, but he is no longer clinical lead for the breast service.

Dr Shafie Kammaruddin, Acting Medical Director at CDDFT, has said that the NHS Trust will “support the police with any information they require”.

Dr Kammaruddin added: “Mr Bhatti is currently restricted from any clinical duties.

“This means that he is not seeing patients or providing any clinical care or treatment.

“We recognise the concerns being raised and understand the importance of transparency.

“We are taking the concerns seriously, and are following the appropriate processes.

“As part of the Trust’s ongoing review into the breast surgery service, there is an active investigation underway.

“While this process is ongoing, we are not able to share further details. 

“We will take account of any further information we receive and will support the police with any information they require.”

The University Hospital of North Durham (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

In a follow-up statement, the Trust confirmed that Mr Bhatti remained on full pay.

A spokesperson for CDDFT said: “In line with Trust Policies and contractual Terms and Conditions of employment, where an employee is restricted or excluded from duties while formal processes are underway, they continue to receive full pay.

“While we are committed to being as open and transparent as possible, it would not be appropriate to comment on individual employment matters.”

A County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust sign (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Mr Bhatti also operated on patients at the private practice, Washington Spire Hospital.

However, Spire has confirmed that the doctor isn’t currently practising clinically at Spire Washington, and they are not currently conducting a recall into his patients.

On his General Medical Council (GMC) profile, Dr Bhatti is still registered with a licence to practice.

Spire Hospital in Washington (Image: Stuart Boulton)

However, Spire has confirmed that the doctor isn’t currently practising clinically at Spire Washington, and they are not currently conducting a recall into his patients.

On the NHS Jobs website, it says that NHS Trust Breast Cancer Surgery Leads typically earn a six-figure salary per year, with Trust pay across the UK ranging from £109,725 to £145,478 per year.

An Independent External Review of Governance report found that appointments lasted just ten minutes, rather than the usual 15–20 minutes required, making them “inconsistent with the principles of safe, sustainable clinical practice”.

A Darlington Memorial Hospital sign (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Patients in the report complained of “feeling rushed, with limited time to ask questions, and that their dignity had not always been maintained.”

The review follows a critical report by the Royal College of Surgeons in March 2025, which raised serious concerns about the service and prompted a full redesign.

The report found a decade of missed warnings, ignored red flags, and ‘systemic failures’.

The review, commissioned by the trust and carried out by governance expert Mary Aubrey, concluded that “the governance arrangements within the breast surgery service were inadequate, inconsistent, and failed to ensure patient safety”.

Nearly 1,500 breast surgery cases, carried out between January 2023 and February 2025, are being examined as part of a major “look-back” exercise by the Trust.

However, more than a thousand reviews into breast cancer treatment provided by the Trust remain unresolved.

The entrance of University Hospital of North Durham (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Of the first 315 cases reviewed, 51 incidents of “moderate or severe” harm were identified, roughly one in every six patients assessed so far.

The Northern Echo understands that the trust investigations are also examining cases dating back to at least 2019, although there is currently no fixed completion date for this data.

NHS bosses say more staff are being recruited to work through the backlog of cases.

Steve Russell, the trust’s chief executive, said: “In all of those cases, we have contacted the women affected and are trying to understand whether there is further support we can offer the women and their families.

“Although we have completed 357 reviews, there are around a thousand that we have yet to complete.

The front of Darlington Memorial Hospital (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“It is taking us longer than we would like to get through the reviews and give answers to the women.”

Campaigners and legal teams have backed calls for a full public inquiry, arguing that the review, which currently stretches back to 2023, with some cases from 2019 also under examination, may need to go back much further.

The trust has apologised for the distress caused and says the service has undergone a “complete review and redesign”, with external leadership brought in and care now aligned to national guidance.

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our review of breast services identified that we had let some patients down, and we understand the distress and uncertainty this has caused.

“We want to support those patients and their families in the best way possible.

“We are continuing to contact and support affected patients in a number of ways.

“For some, this means a detailed review of their care, access to psychological support and discussions with independent clinical experts.

“For others, this may mean ensuring they can easily access information about how to make a claim if they wish to do so, or how to raise further concerns, including by sharing information with Durham Constabulary through their public portal as we continue to fully support their enquiries.

“In response to the breast services review, we have made significant improvements, including bringing our processes in line with national best practice, appointing new surgeons and introducing new clinics and ways of working to strengthen care for patients.”