County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Apologizes After Concerns Raised Over Breast Cancer Care
Women undergoing breast cancer treatment at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust have been impacted by failings in care, prompting a formal apology from the newly appointed chief executive, Steve Russell. Russell, who took the position in September 2023, stated, “The critically important thing to do… is to say how deeply sorry I am, that women who have been cared for in our breast services have been let down by us.” He acknowledged the “distress and pain” caused to patients and their families, and a resulting “loss of trust and confidence” in the organization.
Russell admitted there were “a number of missed opportunities” and that the trust was “too slow to act on the information that was there.” He pledged to ”make changes so that it doesn’t happen again.” A new interim chair has also been appointed to the trust.
The response follows a report by the Royal College of surgeons (RCS), the findings of which have not been publicly released. Mr. bhatti, formerly clinical lead of the breast service, expressed his disappointment at not being given the opportunity to comment on the draft RCS findings. He told the BBC the report contained “some factual inaccuracies” leading to “erroneous conclusions.”
Mr. Bhatti maintains his commitment to patient care, stating, “serving the best interests of all our patients is of paramount importance” and that the trust aims to “learn from this and make the necessary changes and improvements.”
The trust stopped utilizing out-of-hours clinics run by Mr. Bhatti earlier this year. He is currently not treating breast cancer patients or performing surgery while investigations are ongoing. A spokesperson for Mr. Bhatti stated he has been raising concerns regarding “the adequacy of equipment in the breast cancer department” since May 2021 and “looks forward to working with all those involved in any way required.”
NHS England has stated it will ”continue to support the new leadership and partner organisations to make the improvements required.”
