Healthcare Horror: Delays Lead to 28 Deaths at Northern Care Alliance

A disturbing pattern of treatment delays and significant errors at the Northern Care Alliance (NCA), a major hospital trust serving over a million patients across Salford, Oldham, Bury, and Rochdale in Greater Manchester, has been linked to numerous patient deaths and instances of severe harm. Reports indicate that lengthy delays alone were connected to 28 deaths and 56 cases of severe harm. Additionally, diagnostic problems led to ten deaths last year, highlighting critical systemic failures within the trust.

The severity of these issues is further underscored by the recording of ten ‘never events’ at the NCA across 2025 and 2026. These are defined by the NHS as patient safety incidents that are entirely preventable, with most stemming from staff performing surgery on the wrong body part or inadvertently leaving objects inside patients during operations. These alarming incidents have been attributed to intense staffing pressures and overwhelmed operating theatre personnel. Furthermore, the trust recorded 12,000 cases of delayed treatment last year, with bosses citing ‘persistently high’ levels of staff sick leave as a significant contributing factor, noting that the NCA remains an outlier nationally in this regard.

Maternity care has also come under scrutiny, with reports earlier this year flagging an increase in stillbirths. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued a warning notice to the Trust in February, demanding “rapid and significant improvements” across several services. This warning followed a September 2025 inspection of Salford Royal Hospital, prompted by concerns regarding the management of gynaecology, spinal, and neurosurgery services, as well as general safety processes. Surgical services at the hospital were subsequently rated as ‘requires improvement,’ with inspectors concluding that certain aspects were not consistently safe, raising the risk of patient harm.

Further CQC inspections, including an unannounced visit to emergency care at Fairfield General Hospital in January of the current year, uncovered “immediate patient safety concerns” within its Medicine and Urgent & Emergency Services departments. Adding to the trust’s challenges, the NCA recently apologized for the actions of rogue surgeon John Bradley Williamson, who worked at Salford Royal Hospital, the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and Spire Manchester Hospital, and was found to have caused ‘severe harm’ to patients.

Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey has been a vocal critic, consistently raising patient safety and whistleblowing concerns at the NCA. She asserts that the latest allegations reinforce her call for staff to be able to speak up safely, for concerns to be thoroughly investigated, and for independent scrutiny when the Trust fails to act. Long-Bailey emphasized that her efforts are not intended to undermine dedicated staff but to ensure they are supported, can voice concerns without fear, and that patient safety remains paramount.

In response to the mounting pressure, the Northern Care Alliance stated it has revamped its organizational structure, empowering clinicians with leadership roles to drive improvements and decision-making. The Trust acknowledged its challenges, stating, “Like many NHS organisations, we’re facing challenges. We’re clear about what those challenges are and recognise the concerns colleagues have raised. We are working to address those concerns and will continue to listen when colleagues tell us we haven’t got something right, so that we can keep learning and improving.” The NCA also affirmed its commitment to investigating incidents, prioritizing learning, and collaborating with partners to sustain improvements, deeply regretting past failings and the harm caused. Amidst these issues, Unison, the trade union, announced strikes by over 350 NCA employees, including nurses and clinical support workers, on August 24, 26, and 28, protesting the trust's use of an external agency, NHS Professionals (NHSP), for managing overtime work.