Surgery is usually the main treatment for breast cancer. Depending on the size of the cancer and whether it has spread, you may have only the cancer removed (breast-conserving surgery) or the whole breast removed (mastectomy). Other treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted medicines.
The National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer publishes results for each NHS trust. One measure is how often women need a further operation after breast-conserving surgery, for example because some cancer cells were found at the edge of the tissue removed.
Hospitals in the North East
6 trusts in the North East with published figures. Sorted by name. This is not a ranking: read how to read this first.
| Trust | Volume bandWomen having breast cancer surgery, 2021 to 2023 (NAoPri) | Key outcomeFurther operation after breast-conserving surgery (adjusted) | Waiting timeWhole trust | Patient experience | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Bishop Auckland Hospital, Darlington Memorial Hospital, University Hospital North Durham | 600 to 999698 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 30.3%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 60.6%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 7.9 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Bishop Auckland Hospital: No Approved Rating (CQC report for Bishop Auckland Hospital) Darlington Memorial Hospital: Good (CQC report for Darlington Memorial Hospital) University Hospital North Durham: Good (CQC report for University Hospital North Durham) |
| Gateshead Health NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Queen Elizabeth Hospital | 1,500 or more1,547 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 11.8%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 46.2%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | Better than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 8.8 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Good (CQC report for Queen Elizabeth Hospital) |
| The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Freeman Hospital, Royal Victoria Infirmary | 1,500 or more1,630 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 12.0%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 76%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Freeman Hospital: Requires improvement (CQC report for Freeman Hospital) Royal Victoria Infirmary: Not Rated (CQC report for Royal Victoria Infirmary) |
| North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: University Hospital of Hartlepool, University Hospital of North Tees | 1,000 to 1,4991,264 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 11.4%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 44.3%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.3 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | University Hospital of Hartlepool: Requires improvement (CQC report for University Hospital of Hartlepool) University Hospital of North Tees: Requires improvement (CQC report for University Hospital of North Tees) |
| Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: Alnwick Infirmary, Berwick Infirmary, Hexham General Hospital, North Tyneside General Hospital, Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Wansbeck General Hospital | 600 to 999626 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 14.1%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 91.3%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | Better than expectedInpatients rated their overall experience 8.7 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Alnwick Infirmary: Good (CQC report for Alnwick Infirmary) Berwick Infirmary: Good (CQC report for Berwick Infirmary) Hexham General Hospital: Outstanding (CQC report for Hexham General Hospital) North Tyneside General Hospital: Good (CQC report for North Tyneside General Hospital) Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital: Good (CQC report for Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital) Wansbeck General Hospital: Outstanding (CQC report for Wansbeck General Hospital) |
| South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWhole trust. Hospitals: East Cleveland Primary Care Hospital, Redcar Primary Care Hospital, The James Cook University Hospital | 600 to 999774 women who had surgery for early breast cancer, 2021 to 2023 (3 years) | 12.6%National: 16.2% (unadjusted)No banding publishedMore measures
| 71.9%started cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral or screening (standard 85%; England 69.6%), June to August 2026, provisional | About the same as other trustsInpatients rated their overall experience 8.4 out of 10 (CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025, whole trust) | Redcar Primary Care Hospital: Good (CQC report for Redcar Primary Care Hospital) The James Cook University Hospital: Good (CQC report for The James Cook University Hospital) |
How to read this
- Not a ranking. The table is in alphabetical order. A higher volume does not on its own mean better care, and we do not combine the columns into a score.
- Volume bands. Cut points are the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of all 115 NHS trusts in the NAoPri table in the published table, rounded. So about a quarter of NHS trusts in the NAoPri table fall in each band. The exact number is shown under the band.
- Risk adjustment. Where a figure says “adjusted”, the audit has allowed for differences in the patients each hospital treats, such as age and other illnesses. Hospitals that take on more complex cases can still look different for reasons the adjustment does not capture.
- Bands and limits. We only say a result is higher or lower than expected when the source itself says so (for example NJR outlier status, NELA funnel limits, SSNAP levels, CQC survey bands). Where the source publishes a rate without limits we show the rate and the national figure, and say “No banding published”.
- Small numbers. A small hospital can have 0% or a high percentage by chance. Figures the source suppresses are shown as “Not published (small numbers)”.
- Trust or hospital. This audit publishes figures for each NHS trust, which may run several hospitals. The operation may only be done at one of them.
- Different periods. Each figure has its own period, shown next to it. Audit results describe operations done one to three years ago; waiting times are updated monthly.
- National figures. National figures are England (unadjusted), from the NAoPri data tables.
- Talk to your GP or consultant about what the figures mean for you. If you are referred for planned care in England, you can usually choose your hospital.
Full definitions: methodology and data dictionary.
Data sources and licences
- National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer (NAoPri) State of the Nation 2026 data tables, NATCAN for HQIP. Source: National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer (NAoPri), NATCAN / HQIP, 2026, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
- Cancer Waiting Times (provider extract), NHS England. Source: NHS England, Cancer Waiting Times. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC Adult Inpatient Survey 2025 (trust benchmark results), Care Quality Commission. Source: Care Quality Commission, NHS Patient Survey Programme, Adult Inpatient Survey 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- CQC ratings, Care Quality Commission. CQC ratings: Care Quality Commission. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
- Healthcare-associated infections: annual counts and rates by trust (financial year 2025 to 2026), UK Health Security Agency. Source: UK Health Security Agency, healthcare-associated infection annual data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0
Data last updated 26 October 2026. We do not change the published figures; we only group volumes into bands. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Sources
We checked this guide against these official pages on 26 October 2026.
- Treatment for breast cancer in women (NHS website)
- National Audit of Primary Breast Cancer (NATCAN)
- Cancer Waiting Times (NHS England)
- Adult inpatient survey (Care Quality Commission)
Spotted something out of date? Tell us.