Calls for public inquiry into County Durham and Darlington breast cancer care
A petition's been launched
Last updated 26th May 2026
There are calls for a public inquiry into County Durham and Darlington's breast cancer care service.
A petition's been launched after a report last year revealed "systemic failings" like thousands of unnecessary mastectomies and missed diagnoses.
One of those affected is Catriona Dunbar from Stanley, she was 38 years-old when she went through treatment: "It took quite some time for me to see my GP. I had contacted them in March telling them that I could feel a swelling and essentially I had been told that I was probably imagining it."
One incident she added: "The imaging screen was right in front of me, so I could see there was nothing in my left breast, and then they took an image of my right breast and I could see this great big ghostly figure and the radiologist turned and saying, 'oh, you shouldn't have seen that.' Well, it's too late. I started crying."
Talking about another time, during a biospy, she said: "I was on this table and he's injected me with a local anaesthetic but within the same breath taking the first biopsy so there was no opportunity for the anaesthetic to take hold and it was so painful. I bounced off the bed and he just goes, 'oh, did you feel that?'"
Catriona said: "I developed an infection after my operation. I was in a great deal of pain and I kept being told these things are normal, it's just your nerves knitting back together, you're just unfortunate. My breast, my surgical wound had turned purple and swollen to the size of a plum.
"Whilst I was in this shop, the wound burst and all of the rubbish that had been building up for two months since my surgery just poured out of me and this kind old lady closed the door to her shop so that I could have some assemblance of dignity. She stood there with kitchen roll and a plastic bag and it helped me clean and empty my breast.
"I had to buy more clothes and change my clothes every hour because the wound kept seeping through everything. So it kept seeping through all the clothes, all the dressings, everything because there was so much rubbish there that I had repeatedly been told wasn't.
"It transpired that I should have been offered a breast reduction on both sides, removing the cancerous tissue and leaving your breasts more manageable and less damaged than I have been left because the scar that I have is incredibly unpleasant.
"My physical body is very different, all of the treatment that you go through is incredibly brutal. But had I been given this alternative surgery, the chances of me developing the infection that I did would have been significantly reduced and the chances of me developing the burns from the radiation would have been even more significantly reduced.
"To learn that my treatment overall could have been significantly reduced had I been given alternative options is sickening.
"There are no words for how devastating it is to go through something so personal and so destructive of your life, but to learn that you have not been given reasonable care because it wasn't financially beneficial to someone else is unthinkable."
A Durham Constabulary investigation is also underway, any woman who has been affected can get in touch via the police portal.
Legal clinics
Legal clinics are being held by Hudgell Solicitors for women who have been affected.
Hayley Collinson, deputy head of clinical negligence, said: "We're continuing to speak to clients and new inquiries on a regular basis. We think the scale of this is going to be substantial and with a lot of the investigations on-going, we anticipate there's going to be a lot of people concerned for some time in regards to the treatment that they received during the period in which this referred to.
"It's very concerning. We're in a situation where thousands of women are currently left not knowing if the treatment they received was appropriate or not and whether they've suffered harm as a result of the many failings which have been identified and have been allowed to continue to be unaddressed for many.
"I think sadly it's going to be continuing for some time in terms of the investigation. The current trust board papers indicate that they're looking at a cohort between 2023 and early 2025 that have been identified for review. There'll be potential cases that predate 2023.
"Our message would be not to wait. Some of our clients have had their individual review findings back and they've had confirmation that harm has been caused. There may be many people who are awaiting the outcome of the investigation."
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust say significant changes had been made in the past year which were "now leading better outcomes for patients".