\n So far, the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) have put almost 1,500 breast surgery cases under review, and identified 54 cases involving moderate or severe harm and 178 cases involving minor harm.\n<\/p>\n
\n The current phase of the review focuses on patients treated between 2023 and early 2025.\n<\/p>\n
\n Darlington Memorial Hospital (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)\n<\/p>\n
\n But legal experts have warned that the true number of women affected might be significantly higher.\n<\/p>\n
\n Solicitor Hayley Collinson, of Hudgell Solicitors, represents several affected patients and said: \u201cI think we\u2019ve only scratched the surface of how deep this scandal may go, and certainly, at present, we don\u2019t have anything close to an understanding of just how many patients have suffered potentially life-changing harm.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Solicitor Hayley Collinson, of Hudgell Solicitors (Image: Neil Holmes)\n<\/p>\n
\n Chloe Gibson, clinical negligence solicitor at Slater and Gordon, who also represents several of the women affected, added: “While the scale is not yet certain, the numbers we already know about make this a scandal on both a regional and national level.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The cases of these women, who have so bravely come forward to share their stories, lay bare the reality of what so many have faced within this service.\n<\/p>\n
\n Chloe Gibson, clinical negligence solicitor at Slater and Gordon (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n “Unacceptable does not come close to describing what they have been through.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The NHS trust has apologised, saying its review identified that it had “let some patients down\u201d and acknowledged the distress and uncertainty caused.\n<\/p>\n
\n It said it has since undertaken a complete redesign of the breast service, bringing in external leadership, appointing new specialist surgeons and aligning care with national guidance.\n<\/p>\n
\n The review into the NHS service was triggered by a damning Royal College of Surgeons report in March 2025, which described a decade of \u201cprofoundly systemic\u201d failures within the service.\n<\/p>\n
\n University Hospital of North Durham (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)\n<\/p>\n
\n It highlighted delayed diagnoses, excessive or unnecessary surgery, and failures to properly consider or discuss treatment options such as breast-conserving surgery and reconstruction at both Darlington Memorial Hospital and the University of North Durham Hospital, while also mentioning outsourced work at Spire Hospital Washington.\n<\/p>\n
\n One of the patients affected was Catriona McEvoy, 40, from Stanley, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2023 and underwent a lumpectomy to remove the tumour at the University Hospital of North Durham.\n<\/p>\n
\n Catriona McEvoy, 40, of Stanley, County Durham (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n She says she suffered an infection, causing the incision on her breast, where the surgery to remove the cancer had been conducted, to burst open, meaning her chemotherapy treatment had to be delayed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Then, she says she was put through an \u201cunimaginable level of stress\u201d when returning to request tests, as she was worried that her cancer may have returned, having noticed unusual pain in her breast.\n<\/p>\n
\n Catriona McEvoy with her husband Paul (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “I\u2019ve never felt comfortable with my treatment, but it was the appalling way I was treated and spoken to when I went back for review, as I was concerned by pains, which tipped me over the edge.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Firstly, I was told that there was nothing to worry about, then I was called at home and told I\u2019d need to go back to hospital for more tests, as they said they\u2019d spotted an anomaly.\n<\/p>\n
\n “When I did go back in, the radiologist asked me what I was doing there again, as she\u2019d seen me a couple of weeks earlier, and made me feel like I was wasting her time.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Earlier this week, Durham Police confirmed they are carrying out an active criminal investigation into the scandal-hit breast cancer surgery unit.\n<\/p>\n
\n City of Durham MP, Mary Kelly Foy, has also criticised the trust and urged the issues not to be “brushed to one side”.\n<\/p>\n
\n City of Durham MP, Mary Foy (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “The women and families at the centre of this must receive the highest level of support and care.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I will continue to push this issue at the very top of the Government.\n<\/p>\n
\n “As a breast cancer survivor myself, my heart breaks for the women and families who suffered inferior care and are now having to relive their suffering during this process.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Another patient who has suffered at the hands of the Trust is Yvonne, 84, from Durham, who underwent three rounds of surgery in 12 weeks, following delays in her cancer being diagnosed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Yvonne, 84, from Belmont, Durham (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)\n<\/p>\n
\n Late last year, four years after her surgery in 2021, Yvonne, who was 80 at the time of the incidents, was contacted by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust to say they had found problems in her care.\n<\/p>\n
\n Now aged 84, Yvonne says that at the time, she never questioned her care, but now feels \u201cso angry\u201d at what she endured at both the University Hospital of North Durham and Spire Washington Hospital.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I\u2019d never been to a hospital for years before this, so I believed this just must be normal,” said Yvonne.\n<\/p>\n
\n “When I was told that there were problems in my care and I had one surgery too many, the best way I can describe it is that my brain froze, and then the anger took over. I am so angry with how I have been treated.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Amir Bhatti (Image: SUPPLIED)\n<\/p>\n
\n After being referred by her GP with a lump in her breast in early 2021, Yvonne was referred to a clinic at Spire Washington Hospital in March of that year, run by then lead surgeon in the service, Mr Amir Bhatti, where she says she sat for several hours being moved \u201cfrom corridor to corridor, there were so many of us it was awful, and the wait was so long.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Bhatti ran NHS \u201ctwo-week-wait\u201d clinics at Darlington Memorial Hospital, University Hospital North Durham, and Spire Hospital in Washington through companies including Durham Surgical Services.\n<\/p>\n
\n Between 2022 and 2024, 8,000 of 13,500 referred breast cancer patients were seen in outsourced clinics operating on a \u201cpay-per-patient\u201d basis, with previous reports revealing the trust paid nearly \u00a36 million over six years to private out-of-hours clinics run by Dr Bhatti.\n<\/p>\n
\n Spire Hospital in Washington (Image: STUART BOULTON)\n<\/p>\n
\n An Independent External Review of Governance said this saw appointments being scheduled for just 10 minutes, rather than the usual 15\u201320 minutes required, making them “inconsistent with the principles of safe, sustainable clinical practice”.\n<\/p>\n
\n Patients complained of “feeling rushed, with limited time to ask questions, and that their dignity had not always been maintained.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The trust confirmed that Dr Bhatti is still employed by the trust, but he is no longer clinical lead for the breast service and his clinical practice is currently restricted.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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.\n<\/p>\n
\n 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”.\n<\/p>\n
\n Darlington MP Lola McEvoy (Image: STUART BOULTON)\n<\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile, Darlington MP Lola McEvoy has secured a meeting with health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed and warning that the full scale of the scandal is still unknown because the comprehensive look-back has not yet been completed.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: \u201cI know how worrying the scandal is for people in Darlington, and I have been clear with the trust’s leadership that lessons must be learned.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I have recently met with the trust’s CEO to discuss the “look-back” to ensure that this is a top priority for them, to make sure that nothing like this happens again, and that victims are supported.”\n<\/p>\n
\n But the scale of the patients continues, with women coming forward every day, according to their legal teams.\n<\/p>\n
\n When another patient Stacey discovered a lump in her breast in July 2024, she underwent a biopsy with the Durham and Darlington Breast Cancer Service, which gave her the good news that the lump was benign.\n<\/p>\n
\n As it was uncomfortable, but there were no red flag symptoms of breast cancer, Stacey asked that it be taken out, and was added to the waiting list for non-essential surgery.\n<\/p>\n
\n The lump was removed seven months later in February 2025.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, after its removal, Stacey was told that her lump was cancerous and her cancer had progressed to stage four.\n<\/p>\n
\n Although she is in her 30s, Stacey has also been told she will be unable to have children naturally.\n<\/p>\n
\n The front of Darlington Hospital (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis has all been so shocking, so life-changing, all from this little lump in my breast, which I wanted removed,” said Stacey.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis really is a monumental mess up, and the impact on me has been massive.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile, another patient, Moira, is now dependent on carers to support her through every day.\n<\/p>\n
\n Having experienced lengthy delays in her being able to have a biopsy, with nine failed attempts and then a mix-up over patient samples, Moira then experienced distressing consequences after surgery, which she feared may be a haematoma.\n<\/p>\n
\n She then went on to develop sepsis.\n<\/p>\n
\n Although she had lived with MS for 24 years, maintaining her independence without issue, now she is unable to walk or to drive and pays privately for carers to come in to support her four times a day.\n<\/p>\n
\n She is completely bed-bound unless hoisted into a chair by her carers.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis has been totally devastating. It has ruined my life, without a doubt,\u201d says Moira, who is in her 60s.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cFrom the very start, and it taking so many attempts to get the biopsy, it has been such an ordeal.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The trust has apologised for the distress caused and says the service has undergone a \u201ccomplete review and redesign\u201d, with external leadership brought in and care now aligned to national guidance.\n<\/p>\n
\n A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: \u201cOur review of breast services identified that we had let some patients down, and we understand the distress and uncertainty this has caused.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We want to support those patients and their families in the best way possible.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe are continuing to contact and support affected patients in several ways.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So far, the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) have put almost 1,500 breast surgery cases…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-481160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}