NHS Tayside has apologised for adding to patients’ trauma with the way it handled concerns over disgraced brain surgeon Sam Eljamel, as a public inquiry gets under way in Edinburgh.
Eljamel, who was head of neurosurgery at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital until his suspension in December 2013, harmed dozens of patients and left some with life-changing injuries.
The inquiry will examine his appointments between 1995 and 2014 and how NHS Tayside responded when concerns were raised about his practice.
It will also investigate whether Eljamel or the health board concealed information about his professional conduct, and whether the systems in place were sufficient to protect patients.
Dr James Cotton, executive medical director of NHS Tayside, said the board recognised the importance of the inquiry to families and acknowledged the many years it had taken to reach this “significant milestone”.
He added: “We know that many people have experienced considerable distress as patients of Mr Eljamel and we understand that in many cases we have added to that trauma in the way that we have handled ongoing complaints and concerns.
“We are sincerely sorry for this.”
Dr Cotton added that since the publication of NHS Tayside’s 2023 Due Diligence Review into Eljamel, the board had “fully committed to making improvements where failings have been identified.”
“The clinical and professional governance processes within which our teams operate today are demonstrably different to those which were in place more than a decade ago. However, the Board will contribute openly to this Inquiry, be accountable for the decision-making and actions taken, and remains committed to learning all lessons,” he added.
What has been the impact on patients?
The start of the inquiry with a preliminary hearing has been welcomed by former patients of Eljamel.
Alan Ogilvie, who was operated on in 1995 and is now a spokesperson for the Patients Action Group (PAG), said: “For the dozens of patients who have fought tirelessly for years, this hearing is a significant, if profoundly delayed, milestone.
“We have waited two years since the inquiry was first announced, and even longer since we were first harmed, for this process to finally begin in public.
“While we welcome this step, the immense emotional and physical toll of these delays on patients and their families cannot be understated.
“It is, quite simply, about time.”
The group have been campaigning for a full public inquiry to take place since 2022, and it was announced in 2023.
Last year, Scotland’s top law officer criticised the pace of Operation Stringent -Police Scotland’s investigation into the case.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC told campaigner Jules Rose in a letter that the probe “has not progressed as it should have”.
“I fully accept that you are profoundly concerned about the time that has now elapsed – seven years – between the first report to Operation Stringent and where the investigation now sits,” she wrote.
“I agree that this timescale is far too long, and I have tried since my appointment in June 2021 to influence this as far as I can.”
Police Scotland said the probe was “an extremely complex and protracted investigation”.
Inquiry chairman Lord Weir has said he intends to seek evidence from UK-wide regulatory bodies like the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
However, PAG has said it has concerns over the Inquiry’s legal terms of reference which prevent it from making binding recommendations about these organisations.
The inquiry will determine whether patients were let down by failures in clinical governance, risk management, and complaints procedures, and to what extent Eljamel’s private practice, research, and workload impacted on the care received by his patients within NHS Tayside.
It will be able to make recommendations on how practices could be improved to better protect NHS patients in the future.
A Scottish government spokesperson said the inquiry was a “significant milestone” and the government was “fully committed to engaging constructively with the process and value the progress made by Lord Weir and his team”.
