Lawyers have called for Government intervention to deal with failings in breast cancer services in County Durham . This comes as the fall-out from years of failings continues to be exposed. A series of damning reports – including most recently one from the Royal College of Radiographers in March – have highlighted how women have been exposed to harm during care at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust. Previously, ChronicleLive has reported how a woman with terminal cancer said she was told her mastectomy wasn’t, in fact necessary, and how another woman in her 30s, said she was told, incorrectly, that a cancerous lump was benign. A number of other cases have been raised publicly, including that a woman cancelled her wedding due to the issue. The Royal College of Radiographers delivered a report following an “invited review” in March. They found that some women had been exposed to “unnecessary radiation” and that there were “persistent and significant” issues with the trust’s “PACS” IT system. The report’s authors added: “Overall, these issues represent a tangible threat to patient safety and service quality, requiring immediate and sustained attention to prevent harm.” Shocking issues with wider breast cancer treatment at the NHS Trust were revealed last year when the first in a series of reports were made public. Hospital bosses have made a series of public apologies for what happened – with “very serious failings” were identified during 2025, dating back more than a decade. This included missed diagnoses and unnecessary surgery, and hundreds of women are thought to have been implicated. A “lookback” exercise continues, too, with hundreds of cases from recent years being reviewed – and in cases where moderate or severe harm has been identified those patients have been informed. Now, legal firm Hudgell Solicitors – which represents what it called a “growing” number of women affected – has called for the Department of Health and Social Care to get involved. Rachel O’Connor, a solicitor there, said: “Something significant now has to happen in terms of external intervention at this Trust. “We have now had two independent reviews published in the past six months which have exposed failings, dating back many years, in both radiology and surgery departments for breast cancer patients.” Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here . She said that the reports showed patients had been “exposed to potential harm throughout their entire treatment journey” and said women were coming to the firm for advice “each and every week” She added: “Effective radiology is essential in diagnosing cancer at the earliest opportunity, to ensure the patients are put on the correct treatment pathway as quickly as possible, as this increases the chances of treatment being successful. “This RCR report paints a picture of a chaotic, poorly managed, often understaffed department, and not only highlights that many of the issues and concerns were first identified [thirteen] years ago, but also that staff have been discouraged from recording or raising concerns about risk. It is abundantly clear that this Trust cannot be left to its own devices when it comes to implementing change.” Ms O’Connor said the trust had “repeatedly failed” to do this and the Government needed to step in and either put it into the intensive recovery programme or call a public inquiry. In April, NHS bosses including both those at the trust and regional commissioners said they were confident in the safety of services going forward. In a statement to ChronicleLive, Steve Russell, chief executive of County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust, however highlighted that “significant changes” had been made and there was already a “real difference” on the ground. He said: “We’ve taken action to address the issues highlighted in the Royal College of Radiologists Review which was undertaken last December, many of which were about systems, processes and infrastructure. “We’ve made significant changes in the Trust’s leadership and right across the breast care pathway, including introducing a new PACS imaging system and strengthening clinical leadership and oversight “That is already making a real difference improving access to imaging, reducing delays and leading to better outcomes for patients, including fewer repeat operations and more people benefiting from modern surgical techniques. These outcomes are now in line with, and in some areas better than, the national average.” Mr Russell – part of a comprehensively different senior leadership team now in place at the trust – added: ““We’ve been open about the problems in both our breast surgical and radiology services and we are very sorry where care fell below the standard patients should expect. We continue to contact and support those affected. “There is more to do and we’re working closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and independent experts to make sure we continue to improve and provide safe, high-quality care for every patient.” In response to the RCR report, at a meeting in March, North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board executive medical director Dr Neil O’Brien added: “A lot of the safety issues that were highlighted in the Royal College of Radiology report – including the potential unnecessary radiation – is because of inability of clinicians to easily access previous images. “There were repeat images, and it was a manual process which sometimes led to instances where there was either wrong side breast sampling done, and therefore repeat biopsies needed to be made. “We’ll certainly continue to work with the Trust – we monitor all the delivery of all of these actions through the breast oversight group. But I’m pleased to say that the Trust are implementing a new [imaging archive] system which I think will address a lot of the technical IT issues.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the patients and families affected by these unacceptable failings in care. “The Trust is working with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and independent experts to address these issues, and we expect it to continue making improvements to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality care.” Our ChronicleLive Daily newsletter is free. You can sign up to receive it here . It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East.

Original source: gb