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County Durham NHS Fails Cancer Test Speed Target
29 Jun
Summary
- Fewer than 1 in 10 patients received breast cancer diagnoses within 28 days in April.
- The trust's performance has worsened significantly since March 2025.
- A major review is underway following multiple service failings.
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) is significantly underperforming against the NHS's Faster Diagnosis Standard for breast cancer. The standard requires at least 80% of patients to receive a cancer diagnosis within 28 days of an urgent referral.
In April 2026, CDDFT's breast cancer service reported that fewer than 1 in 10 patients met this critical timeframe. This marks a severe decline, with performance deteriorating since March 2025. For instance, only 9% of patients received timely diagnoses in April 2026, a sharp drop from approximately 34% in July 2025.
The trust is currently undergoing a comprehensive review of its breast cancer services. This investigation follows earlier findings of multiple serious issues, including missed diagnoses and unnecessary surgeries. The acting chief operating officer acknowledged the excessive delays and stated that efforts are being made to improve the situation.
Increased clinic capacity and planned staff recruitment are intended to reduce waiting times, with further improvements anticipated by September 2026. Provisional figures for May 2026 indicated a slight improvement to 34% meeting the target, though this remains substantially below the national average of 84.7% for April.
