NHS Trust Admits Twenty Women Underwent Avoidable Mastectomies in Deepening Breast Cancer Scandal

An NHS hospital trust in north-east England has confirmed that twenty women underwent unnecessary breast removal surgeries while undergoing clinical care for breast cancer. The admissions highlight widespread clinical failures within the breast unit at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT), where hundreds of other patients have also experienced varying degrees of medical harm.

The scale of the crisis was outlined in the trust's ongoing review into its breast services. Health officials have thus far examined 514 patient cases, discovering that 315 individuals suffered clinical harm during their care, with 77 of those cases classified as having sustained significant harm. Trust officials also confirmed that at least one patient has died, while several other women experienced missed or delayed cancer diagnoses that subsequently allowed their disease to spread.

Steve Russell, the recently appointed chief executive of CDDFT, issued an unreserved apology to those impacted by the unit’s systemic shortcomings. Acknowledging that the care delivered fell far below acceptable medical standards, he described the findings as utterly unacceptable and expressed personal distress over the profound physical and emotional damage inflicted upon patients and their families.

The trust's internal investigation is currently focused on breast cancer procedures and treatments carried out between January 2023 and February 2025, alongside files associated with 640 former patients who reached out to a dedicated support helpline. However, health chiefs are now considering whether to substantially widen the inquiry to include medical records dating as far back as 2015, an expansion that could require clinicians to reopen and re-examine up to 10,000 historical patient files.

In addition to internal medical reviews, law enforcement agencies have intervened to assess the circumstances surrounding the clinical failures. The National Crime Agency is actively collaborating with Durham Police to examine allegations raised by former patients and establish whether any criminal offenses were committed during the provision of breast cancer services at the trust.

Among the women affected is 51-year-old Denise Howarth from Consett, County Durham, who discovered a lump in 2023 and was diagnosed with slow-growing, grade 1 breast cancer. Following her initial diagnosis, she underwent a lumpectomy, followed by a full mastectomy, alongside eight cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

In September 2025, Howarth received a phone call from the NHS, followed by formal correspondence from the trust, informing her that her mastectomy had been entirely avoidable. The trust acknowledged in writing that a second lumpectomy could have been performed instead of full breast removal, but that this less invasive surgical option had never been presented or discussed with her during consultations.

Reacting to the revelations, Howarth expressed overwhelming shock and grief, noting that while she received an institutional apology, no amount of regret from hospital leadership could restore the body part she unnecessarily lost. She is one of multiple patients dealing with enduring physical changes and profound psychological distress in the wake of the trust's admissions.

Another patient, a former NHS employee identified as Jo, contacted the trust's dedicated helpline to inquire about a mastectomy she underwent in 2021. Earlier this year, trust representatives informed her during a telephone consultation that her breast removal surgery had also been unnecessary, leaving her grappling with feelings of deep professional and personal betrayal.

Jo explained that having worked within the healthcare system, she placed absolute trust in her medical colleagues to provide the highest standard of care. She described feeling physically mutilated by the avoidable surgery, characterizing the lapses in clinical judgement as completely unforgivable.

Other impacted patients, including Pam Brown, who described feeling butchered by her breast removal operation, have formed mutual support networks to help one another navigate the trauma. Together, affected women and their families are now actively lobbying government and health authorities to initiate a full independent public inquiry into the unit's historic operations.

The surgical care of both Jo and Denise Howarth was supervised by Mr. Amir Bhatti, who served as CDDFT’s clinical lead for breast services between 2013 and 2024. Bhatti has since been suspended from active clinical practice, though he remains an employee of the hospital trust on full pay while investigations continue.

The scandal has also cast scrutiny over significant financial relationships between the hospital trust and private healthcare entities. Over a six-year timeframe, CDDFT paid nearly £6 million to private surgical firms and diagnostic clinics operated by Bhatti, a setup that raised serious alarms during a formal governance review.

That independent 2025 review, conducted by governance expert Mary Aubrey, determined that outsourcing public hospital appointments to private providers created financial incentives that posed potential risks to clinical care standards. Russell acknowledged that the trust had failed to appropriately manage the severe conflict of interest, confirming that the controversial private outsourcing contract has now been terminated.