Treatment delays at the Northern Care Alliance were linked to 28 patient deaths and 56 cases of severe harm during the last reporting year, according to the trust’s records. Patients using its Greater Manchester hospitals should continue attending appointments unless contacted, but anyone worried about a delay should speak to their clinical team or the trust’s patient advice service.
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust runs Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield General Hospital in Bury.
An investigation by the Manchester Evening News found that the trust recorded about 12,000 incidents involving delayed treatment during the year.
Separate problems involving delayed or missed diagnoses were linked to ten deaths. These figures may cover different types of incidents and should not simply be added together as a single death toll.
An incident being “linked” to a death also does not necessarily mean the delay was the only cause. Patient-safety reviews examine whether problems with care contributed to an outcome and what changes are needed to prevent similar incidents.
Staff shortages and sickness put services under pressure
Trust leaders said persistently high staff sickness levels were among the problems affecting services. Staff shortages can place additional pressure on clinical teams, increase workloads and make it harder to treat patients within expected timescales.
The figures have emerged amid wider concern about management, staffing and patient safety across the Northern Care Alliance.
NHS England placed the trust under formal enforcement measures in June 2026. Its enforcement document said the organisation had been unable to provide sufficient assurance that its quality-governance system could prevent further patient harm.
Quality governance refers to the way a hospital identifies safety risks, investigates incidents and checks that improvements have been carried out. NHS England raised concerns about services including spinal surgery, gynaecology and surgical wards at Salford Royal.
The regulator ordered the trust to complete improvements arising from previous investigations, comply with a Care Quality Commission warning notice and report its progress every month.
NHS England’s action does not mean the hospitals have been closed or that all treatment provided by the trust is unsafe. It means the trust must make agreed improvements while being monitored more closely.
Trust says changes are being made
Responding to concerns about patient safety, the Northern Care Alliance said it had changed how the organisation was managed. It said more clinicians had been placed in leadership roles so they could take part directly in decisions and improvement work.
The trust acknowledged the pressure it was facing and said: “Like many NHS organisations, we’re facing challenges.”
It added that it had processes for investigating incidents and accepted that learning from them must be given greater priority. The trust said it would continue working with councils, NHS Greater Manchester and other partners to improve services.
The findings follow broader warnings about delays within the health service. A previous New Daily Prime investigation into NHS referral failures reported that missed or delayed referrals had been associated with patient deaths, late cancer diagnoses and other harm.
Delays can be particularly serious when a patient may have cancer or another condition that requires urgent treatment. However, the risk depends on the person’s illness, the length of the delay and the care received while waiting.
What patients should do
Patients should attend appointments and continue taking prescribed medicines unless a healthcare professional tells them otherwise. They should not avoid seeking urgent care because of the figures in this report.
Anyone whose condition becomes significantly worse should contact their GP, NHS 111 or the clinical team responsible for their treatment. In a life-threatening emergency, they should call 999 or attend accident and emergency.
Patients who believe an appointment, test result or referral has been missed should contact the hospital department first. They can also raise the matter through the trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service, commonly known as PALS.
Formal complaints can be made to the trust. If a patient remains dissatisfied after receiving a final response, the complaint may be taken to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Related news
