Early warnings on breast cancer care were missed

COUNTY Durham hospital bosses have apologised over a range of governance failures that saw “systemic” failings in breast cancer services.

- SAM VOLPE

New bosses at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust said that, following another shocking independent report, they would seek to rebuild governance “from the ground up”.

New chief executive Steve Russell and interim chair of the board Alison Marshall apologised to patients after sharing a “deeply upsetting” report the trust commissioned from independent governance expert Mary Aubrey.

This report, published this week, found “early warnings” from as early as 2012 were missed and there was “a complete absence of governance accountability” when it came to some outsourced services.

This comes as part of an NHS scandal that has seen “very serious failures” in breast cancer care, including unnecessary surgery and missed diagnoses. Ms Aubrey’s report, commissioned by the trust in March, looked at issues between 2012 and 2025 and found “persistent governance failures”.

In the stark report, she also highlights “governance breakdown”, “failures of executive and clinical leadership” and “a persistent culture of silence and lack of psychological safety for staff” among a total of 12 structural issues she says caused: “Avoidable patient harm, loss of public trust, regulatory and reputational risk, and financial loss.”