Health officials at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust are due to decide how far back a review of breast cancer treatment should go after more than 30 women were found to have undergone unnecessary surgery.
An extraordinary trust board meeting will take place in Durham on Thursday 24 September. Members of the Pink Justice Network, an online support group for women treated by the trust, are expected to attend as officials set the scope of the review, known as a Look Back Exercise.
Review could cover treatment from 2015
Board papers recommend examining cases dating back as far as 2015, with records reviewed retrospectively one year at a time. The documents estimate that this option could take five years and involve checking the care of approximately 4,500 patients.
The review follows findings that hundreds of patients came to harm during treatment in the breast unit at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. The trust has apologised and is bringing in specialists from other hospitals to examine cases for evidence that women underwent unnecessary operations or received otherwise poor care.
The board’s decision will determine the extent of the investigation. The supplied report does not state that the final scope has been agreed.
Support group calls for public inquiry
The Pink Justice Network has around 150 members and is run by Nadeen Lister and Amelia Green. The group is calling for a public inquiry into what went wrong.
“When we started the group, nobody was talking about compensation, they just wanted justice for what has been done.”
That comment was made by Nadeen Lister, who said the group’s members wanted justice. Amelia Green said the trust could avoid the cost of the Look Back Exercise by supporting the group’s call for a public inquiry.
The review has cost the trust more than £500,000 this year. That spending covers staff checking medical records, medical experts reviewing cases and psychological support for affected patients.
Patients await answers about their care
Hayley Collinson, of Hudgell Solicitors, which represents many affected patients, said the scale of harm identified so far meant the trust board should extend the investigation. She said the findings from the first batch of cases and the high percentage of harm identified supported a wider review.
“The reality is that any woman who had breast cancer treatment at this Trust from 2015 onwards is now going to be questioning whether their treatment was appropriate and if they were actually harmed.”
The meeting is therefore expected to be closely watched by patients who received breast cancer treatment through the trust from 2015 onwards. The immediate next step is for board members to decide the review period and the number of cases that will be examined.