GMC ‘aware’ of concerns into Durham breast services surgeon

Amir Bhatti was the clinical lead at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s (CDDFT) breast cancer surgery service when a damning report exposed a ‘decade of missed warnings, ignored red flags, and systemic failures’.

In a statement on Thursday (March 26), the GMC said: “We are aware of the concerns that have been raised.”

Amir Bhatti (Image: SUPPLIED)

The GMC added that it only confirms publicly available information about individual doctors as it appears on the medical register, but does not confirm if it is investigating a doctor unless they have interim restrictions.

Mr Bhatti is registered with a licence to practise with no restrictions on his registration, according to the GMC.

The Northern Echo previously reported that Mr Bhatti was responsible for breast cancer surgery at the trust, and was also director of an outsourced private clinic, which an investigation revealed was paid a share of nearly £6 million over six years to treat women.

A Darlington Memorial Hospital sign (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Between 2022 and 2024, 8,000 of 13,500 referred breast cancer patients were seen in outsourced clinics operating on a “pay-per-patient” basis, through companies including Durham Surgical Services, of which Mr Bhatti was a director.

Mr Bhatti ran NHS “two-week-wait” clinics at Darlington Memorial Hospital, University Hospital North Durham, and Spire Hospital in Washington, through companies including Durham Surgical Services.

An investigation found the trust paid nearly £6 million over six years to private out-of-hours clinics, including a company that Mr Bhatti was a director of.

A spokesperson for Mr Bhatti previously said that “serving the best interests of all our patients is of paramount importance” and when things go wrong “, we learn from this and make the necessary changes and improvements”.

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that Mr Bhatti is still employed by the trust, but he is no longer clinical lead for the breast service.

Dr Shafie Kammaruddin, acting medical director at CDDFT, has said that the NHS Trust will “support the police with any information they require”.

Dr Kammaruddin added: “Mr Bhatti is currently restricted from any clinical duties.

The University of North Durham Hospital (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“This means that he is not seeing patients or providing any clinical care or treatment.

“We recognise the concerns being raised and understand the importance of transparency.

“We are taking the concerns seriously, and are following the appropriate processes.

“As part of the Trust’s ongoing review into the breast surgery service, there is an active investigation underway.

“While this process is ongoing, we are not able to share further details. 

Darlington Memorial Hospital (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“We will take account of any further information we receive and will support the police with any information they require.”

In a follow-up statement, the trust confirmed that Mr Bhatti remained on full pay.

A spokesperson for CDDFT said: “In line with trust policies and contractual terms and conditions of employment, where an employee is restricted or excluded from duties while formal processes are underway, they continue to receive full pay.

“While we are committed to being as open and transparent as possible, it would not be appropriate to comment on individual employment matters.”

Mr Bhatti also operated on patients at the private practice, Washington Spire Hospital.

Spire Hospital in Washington (Image: Stuart Boulton)

However, Spire has confirmed that the doctor isn’t currently practising clinically at Spire Washington, and they are not currently conducting a recall into his patients.

However, Spire has confirmed that the doctor isn’t currently practising clinically at Spire Washington, and they are not currently conducting a recall into his patients.

The review follows a critical report by the Royal College of Surgeons in March 2025, which raised serious concerns about the service and prompted a full redesign.

The report found a decade of missed warnings, ignored red flags, and ‘systemic failures’.

The review, commissioned by the trust and carried out by governance expert Mary Aubrey, concluded that “the governance arrangements within the breast surgery service were inadequate, inconsistent, and failed to ensure patient safety”.

A new report presented to the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) board on Wednesday (March 25) outlined significant improvements to the service, alongside the latest findings from its ongoing “look-back” review into patient care.

So far, 578 cases have been identified, with 357 reviewed. Of those, 45 involved moderate harm and nine involved more serious harm, including one death.

The review focuses on cases from 2023 to early 2025, but discussions are ongoing about widening its scope, with input from legal advisers, patient groups, regulators and other NHS trusts.

Around 1,500 cases are now under review in total, with more than 1,000 still outstanding, and additional independent clinical reviewers are being recruited to speed up the process.