An apology from Alison Marshall, Interim Chair and Steve Russell, Chief Executive
“We are deeply sorry for the distress, pain and loss of trust experienced by patients and families affected by the failures in our breast services. We recognise the trauma many have endured - missed cancers, delays in diagnosis, unnecessary procedures and care that fell far below the standards they deserved. We let our patients down, and for that we are profoundly sorry.
“We accept the findings of recent reviews and the recommendations in full. This should not have happened. We have published our response which sets out how we are and will continue to strengthen our leadership, governance, and clinical oversight to ensure that quality becomes our organising principle.
“While the response acknowledges some of the early steps we have taken, we are absolutely clear that there is much more to do. We will work tirelessly to rebuild trust - with patients, with staff, and with the wider communities. We will ensure that our services, and the actions we now take, are shaped by what our patients are telling us about their experiences.
“These reports make for extremely difficult reading. They highlight multiple missed opportunities, failures to act with curiosity, and a lack of the problem-sensing mindset needed to keep patients safe. We will learn from this - openly, honestly, and with the urgency this situation demands.
“This is a pivotal moment for our organisation. Supported fully by the Trust Board, we will deliver our response, strengthen the fundamentals of care, and ensure that such failings do not happen again. We are determined to build a safer, more compassionate and more effective organisation for every patient who needs us.”
Support for patients
Trained professionals are available to help patients who feel worried, distressed, or unsure about anything related to their care.
Call: 0191 3332126
Email: cddft.
Review of our breast surgery services
Earlier this year, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust began a review into its breast surgery services.
You can find information about the review below:
- Trust issues apology to patients let down by breast cancer service (23 July 2025)
- Open Trust Board papers (30 July 2025)
As part of this review, the Trust also commissioned an independent investigation of governance to understand whether there were missed opportunities to identify and act on any concerns sooner.
Findings of the review
We have published the findings of that independent review, which you can find below.
Alongside the report, we are also sharing our response to the findings and setting out how we are taking action on the recommendations.
We would like to offer our sincere and unreserved apologies to everyone affected. We are working closely with patients, families and colleagues to deliver the improvements needed.
The report and the Trust’s response will be discussed at an open Trust Board meeting on Wednesday 26 November at 9am. Spaces are limited to attend in person so please contact the Foundation Trust Office by emailing: cdda-tr.
Patient support information
We've created a guide to help answer some of the questions you may have following your breast care review.
What the service is like now
The breast service today is fundamentally different from the one described in the recent reviews. Since April of this year, the Trust has taken significant steps to strengthen the safety, quality, and oversight of care. These improvements are already having a meaningful impact on the way women and patients are assessed, treated, and supported.
We now have new leadership across the Trust, including a new Chief Executive and Interim Chair, with a clear focus on making quality our organising principle. Leadership responsibilities are clearer, oversight is stronger, and there is much greater attention to early warning signs, listening, and acting quickly when concerns arise. Staff have told us they feel more supported, better informed, and more confident that the Trust will act on what they raise.
Two new oncoplastic breast surgeons have joined the service. They bring specialist expertise and are helping to make sure that women are offered the full range of treatment options in line with national guidance. Clinical decisions are now made through an improved and more effective multidisciplinary team (MDT) process. A Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) is a group of healthcare professionals from different specialties who meet to discuss a patient’s care together.
We are strengthening governance across the organisation, drawing on external advisors and national specialists to help us build the right systems and culture. This includes a sharper focus on listening to patient experience, learning from feedback, and acting on it promptly. Staff are being encouraged and expected to speak up, supported by clearer routes for escalation and stronger clinical leadership.
Taken together, the changes made mean the service now has stronger leadership, safer systems, clearer clinical processes, and is developing a culture that listens and learns. While we know there is still more to do, these improvements give us confidence - and we hope they give patients and partners confidence too - that breast care at the Trust today is safer, more reliable, and more focused on delivering the compassionate, high-quality care they deserve.
Assuring safety more widely
We know that the problems found in our breast service have affected people’s trust and confidence in many of our services and in the care we provide. We are sincerely sorry for this. Patients, families and staff deserved better, and we understand how worrying this has been.
We hope that by being open and transparent about what has happened, and by sharing information honestly now and in the future, we can begin to rebuild trust. We are committed to being visible, honest and clear about the work we are doing to put things right. This includes showing where things are improving, but also being upfront about the challenges we face in any service and the areas where we must do better.
Our aim is to learn openly, act quickly, and make sure patients and staff can see real and lasting change across the whole Trust.
To do this, the Trust is:
- Reviewing all clinical services, not only breast surgery, so we understand where things are strong and where improvements are needed.
- Using the lessons from the external governance review and making sure these lessons are applied across the whole Trust, not limited to a single service.
- Continuing to work closely with regulators like the CQC and NHS England, who will keep checking our progress and supporting us to improve.
- Bringing in independent external experts when we need them, so we get a clear and honest view of how our services are performing.
- Publishing our findings and plans openly and transparently, so patients, staff and local people can see what we are doing and why.
- Making leadership more visible and approachable, with the Chief Executive spending time in clinical areas to hear directly from staff and patients.
- Reinforcing a strong message that no one should “walk past something that isn’t good enough,” and that speaking up quickly is essential for safety.