The inquiry into the activities and oversight of NHS Tayside neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel has launched and will be chaired by David Weir.
The independent public inquiry investigating the activities and oversight of NHS Tayside neurosurgeon, Sam Eljamel has launched.
Eljamel was employed by NHS Tayside from 1995 until 2014, rising to the post of head of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. He also held various research and teaching positions with the University of Dundee and worked in private practice at Fernbrae Hospital.
Concerns over the standard of clinical care provided to patients by Mr Eljamel led to the consultant being placed under supervision and then suspended by NHS Tayside in 2013.
He subsequently resigned in May 2014 and removed his own name from the medical register of the General Medical Council in 2015.
The inquiry will determine, among other things, 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 the care received by his patients within NHS Tayside.
Many unanswered questions
The inquiry was announced on 7 September 2023 by then-cabinet secretary for health, Michael Matheson, following a long-running campaign spearheaded by former patients of Eljamel.
At the time, Matheson said that a due diligence review, published by NHS Tayside in August 2023, had left “many unanswered questions” and outlined “a number of failings” surrounding the health board’s handling of concerns about Eljamel which Matheson said could “only be examined thoroughly by a public inquiry”.
David Weir was appointed to chair the inquiry in February last year, and Jamie Dawson will act as its senior counsel.
“I recognise that for many former patients and their families, the experiences which form the subject matter of the Inquiry have been traumatic,” said Weir. “That is why my inquiry is committed to conducting its work in a way that is trauma-informed. It will listen to those who feel their voices have not been heard”.
Dates for a preliminary hearing and opening statements from core participants will be confirmed in the coming months, with full hearings expected to get underway later this year.
