Latest news with #SamEljamel
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Inquiry into disgraced NHS Tayside surgeon Sam Eljamel set to take place next month
Sam Eljamel was accused of harming as many as 200 people, with some suffering life-changing injuries. The public inquiry investigating disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel will hold a preliminary hearing next month. The Eljamel Inquiry will investigate the activities and oversight of Mr Eljamel, who was appointed by NHS Tayside as a consultant neurosurgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in 1995 and went on to become head of neurosurgery at the site. In 2013, Mr Eljamel was placed under supervision and later suspended following concerns about the standard of clinical care he was providing to patients. He resigned from NHS Tayside in 2014. Patients of the former neurosurgeon have claimed he harmed as many as 200 people, with some suffering life-changing injuries. The Eljamel Inquiry will determine, among other things, whether patients were let down by failures in clinical governance, risk management, and complaints procedures, and the adequacy of previous reviews. It will also examine to what extent Mr Eljamel's private practice, research, and workload impacted on care received by his patients, and whether, and if so to what extent, Mr Eljamel and NHS Tayside tried to conceal evidence of sub-standard care. The independent public inquiry, chaired by Lord Weir, will hold a preliminary hearing in Edinburgh on September 10 to set out its progress and intentions. Scotland's Health Secretary Neil Gray formally set up the inquiry on April 3, empowering it to begin the process of gathering evidence. To date, Lord Weir has designated applicants including NHS Tayside, 133 former patients of Mr Eljamel and 19 personal representatives of former patients. This group is represented by the legal firm Levy & McRae. The Scottish Government and the University of Dundee are also designated as core participants, as are the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh), Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and NHS Education for Scotland. Members of the public, including former patients, can apply to attend the preliminary hearing in person taking place at Waverley Gate in central Edinburgh. Proceedings will also be broadcast live on the inquiry's YouTube channel, and will be available to view later on its website. A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: 'We are actively participating in the Eljamel Inquiry.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. We're also on Facebook - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Record, Sunday Mail and Record Online
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Inquiry into rogue surgeon to hold preliminary hearing next month
A public inquiry set up to investigate disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel will hold a preliminary hearing next month. The Eljamel Inquiry will investigate the activities and oversight of Mr Eljamel, who was appointed by NHS Tayside as a consultant neurosurgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in 1995 and went on to become head of neurosurgery at the site. In 2013, Mr Eljamel was placed under supervision and later suspended following concerns about the standard of clinical care he was providing to patients. He resigned from NHS Tayside in 2014. Patients of the former neurosurgeon have claimed he harmed as many as 200 people, with some suffering life-changing injuries. The Eljamel Inquiry will determine, among other things, whether patients were let down by failures in clinical governance, risk management, and complaints procedures, and the adequacy of previous reviews. It will also examine to what extent Mr Eljamel's private practice, research, and workload impacted on care received by his patients, and whether, and if so to what extent, Mr Eljamel and NHS Tayside tried to conceal evidence of sub-standard care. The independent public inquiry, chaired by Lord Weir, will hold a preliminary hearing in Edinburgh on September 10 to set out its progress and intentions. Scotland's Health Secretary Neil Gray formally set up the inquiry on April 3, empowering it to begin the process of gathering evidence. To date, Lord Weir has designated applicants including NHS Tayside, 133 former patients of Mr Eljamel and 19 personal representatives of former patients. This group is represented by the legal firm Levy & McRae. The Scottish Government and the University of Dundee are also designated as core participants, as are the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh), Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and NHS Education for Scotland. Members of the public, including former patients, can apply to attend the preliminary hearing in person. Proceedings will also be broadcast live on the inquiry's YouTube channel, and will be available to view later on its website. The preliminary hearing will take place at Waverley Gate in central Edinburgh.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Inquiry into rogue surgeon to hold preliminary hearing next month
A public inquiry set up to investigate disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel will hold a preliminary hearing next month. The Eljamel Inquiry will investigate the activities and oversight of Mr Eljamel, who was appointed by NHS Tayside as a consultant neurosurgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in 1995 and went on to become head of neurosurgery at the site. In 2013, Mr Eljamel was placed under supervision and later suspended following concerns about the standard of clinical care he was providing to patients. He resigned from NHS Tayside in 2014. Patients of the former neurosurgeon have claimed he harmed as many as 200 people, with some suffering life-changing injuries. The Eljamel Inquiry will determine, among other things, whether patients were let down by failures in clinical governance, risk management, and complaints procedures, and the adequacy of previous reviews. It will also examine to what extent Mr Eljamel's private practice, research, and workload impacted on care received by his patients, and whether, and if so to what extent, Mr Eljamel and NHS Tayside tried to conceal evidence of sub-standard care. The independent public inquiry, chaired by Lord Weir, will hold a preliminary hearing in Edinburgh on September 10 to set out its progress and intentions. Scotland's Health Secretary Neil Gray formally set up the inquiry on April 3, empowering it to begin the process of gathering evidence. To date, Lord Weir has designated applicants including NHS Tayside, 133 former patients of Mr Eljamel and 19 personal representatives of former patients. This group is represented by the legal firm Levy & McRae. The Scottish Government and the University of Dundee are also designated as core participants, as are the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh), Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and NHS Education for Scotland. Members of the public, including former patients, can apply to attend the preliminary hearing in person. Proceedings will also be broadcast live on the inquiry's YouTube channel, and will be available to view later on its website. The preliminary hearing will take place at Waverley Gate in central Edinburgh.
Sunday Post
25-05-2025
- Health
- Sunday Post
Hospitals urged to probe extent of Eljamel influence in England
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up Hospitals in England have been told to thoroughly check their records after The Sunday Post last week revealed the neurosurgeon accused of harming hundreds of Scots also worked in Liverpool. The Department of Health and Social Care has issued the instruction to all NHS Trusts where Libyan-born Sam Eljamel worked before he took up a post at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in 1995. That will include the world-renowned Walton Centre for Neurosurgery in Liverpool, where he worked for four years. Last week we revealed the Walton's health officials refused to even confirm the rogue surgeon had worked there, citing 'data protection laws' ahead of their duty of candour to patients. And we can also reveal that despite glaring irregularities in Eljamel's CV and his concerning behaviour in Dundee, English health regulator the Healthcare Commission appointed Eljamel as a medical adviser from 2007 until 2009. The formal appointment gave Eljamel influence on the regulation of other clinicians and saw him advising the NHS across England on clinical standards. One of Eljamel's victims, former Radio Tay presenter Pat Kelly, 65, who says he has been left 'as helpless as a toddler', said: 'The very idea that a rogue surgeon under suspicion of harming so many patients could help shape clinical governance nationally is a scandal in itself. 'My operation took place in 2007 when, at the very least, others at NHS Tayside must have known things were far from satisfactory and patients were being harmed. 'He should have been under scrutiny from the irregularities in his CV alone, and by 2007 I'd be astonished if patients had not been coming forward with concerns about his competence too, given his behaviour during my surgery. 'This whole debacle signals a monumental regulatory failure at the very heart of NHS England as well as Scotland. It is why we need a national inquiry and why the Scottish inquiry must expand its terms of reference to include just what all the regulatory bodies knew and failed to do to stop Eljamel long before he was able to hurt hundreds of patients.' © Alamy Stock Photo Eljamel qualified in Tripoli before moving to Liverpool, where he wrote a number of research papers which are still available today with no warning of the accusations of harm to so many patents. He also worked in Dublin as a senior neurosurgical registrar. The BBC carried out checks on Eljamel's CV and found that although he claimed to have completed a fellowship at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, nobody there had any record of it. Eljamel also claimed to be a visiting professor at the universities of Connecticut and San Diego, but when the BBC contacted them, the universities said this was not the case. Kelly added: 'It is chilling to think there were so many red flags in Eljamel's past, right there in his CV, but nobody seemed able to carry out the most cursory checks to catch them.' Last week Fife MP Richard Baker and his Liverpool Labour colleague Dan Carden demanded a national inquiry into Eljamel, calling for the Scottish judge-led inquiry to expand its terms or reference to include national regulatory bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) so they can be examined on their failure to protect patients. Top Liverpool lawyer Ronnie Hutcheon said: 'It is utterly astonishing that Eljamel was able to remain in the powerful positions he held while there were so many concerns. 'I urge the Walton to now do the right thing and be transparent about what happened while he was working there. 'Patient safety is paramount in a situation like this, and I welcome the Department of Health ordering a review of records in all the areas where Eljamel worked. If anyone treated by him has concerns, they must come forward and get checked.' More than 200 Ninewells patients have come forward, sparking the Eljamel Inquiry, led by Lord Weir and bankrolled by the Scottish Government to the tune of over £1 million so far, before hearing any evidence. The inquiry has so far refused to include the HSE, sparking anger from victims. Jules Rose, 53, from Kinross, said: 'The more we learn about this scandal the more it points to national systemic failure to catch surgeons who cause harm and protect patients. 'We cannot tolerate this happening ever again, and we must get to the heart of why and how this was allowed to happen, and who is responsible.' The Department of Health and Social Care said while it has not yet received any reports of harm by Eljamel in England, it has 'instructed NHS trusts he is alleged to have worked at to thoroughly check their records'. Glenrothes and Mid Fife Labour MP Richard Baker said he has written to UK Government ministers 'urging them to ensure the HSE is engaged with the Eljamel Inquiry'. He added: 'Absolute credit to The Sunday Post for pushing Eljamel's background into the public domain, because relevant bodies in England are now reacting as a result.'
Sunday Post
20-05-2025
- Health
- Sunday Post
MPs demand UK-wide Eljamel inquiry after we reveal links to Walton
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up The rogue brain surgeon accused of harming hundreds of patients operated for four years at the world-renowned Walton neurosurgical centre in Liverpool, we can reveal. Now MPs are calling for a UK-wide inquiry covering every hospital where Sam Eljamel worked. Liverpool Labour MP Dan Carden and Fife MP Richard Baker want the Scottish Government to bring in UK-wide bodies to the inquiry it announced last year. Carden said: 'The Scottish Government's inquiry is welcome. But I'm calling on it to expand this to all areas where Eljamel operated, so that we can properly identify the failings, learn real lessons, but most importantly – deliver accountability and justice for every victim.' More than two dozen of Libya-born Eljamel's patients came from Baker's constituency, and he is calling for the Health and Safety Executive to be included in the inquiry. He said: 'UK regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) don't normally get involved in Scottish inquiries, but that's by convention only. An exception should be made in this case, given HSE has an essential role to play in scrutinising evidence and making recommendations.' Campaigners criticised officials at the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust who have refused to even confirm that Eljamel worked there, citing 'data protection' laws ahead of a duty of candour to patients. It refused to answer our questions on how many patients, if any, were harmed by Eljamel, and whether they had carried out an audit of patient records. Eljamel's own CV confirms he was at the Walton from September 1987 until August 1991, during which time he published a large number of medical research papers. Pat Kelly, who suffered life-changing injuries at the hands of Eljamel, said: 'It is inconceivable that Eljamel could have harmed more than 200 patients while he was at Ninewells in Dundee but somehow managed not to damage a single patient when he was at the Walton. 'For years, Eljamel's Scottish victims here were lied to. We were told we were 'unique' and we were the 'only ones' this had happened to. We only discovered there were hundreds of us when the media picked up our stories. MP's must now ask if the Walton has done the same thing to patients there, and that is why their health officials are being so evasive today.' Kelly and other campaigners joined MPs calling for the Walton to carry out an audit to check on the health of every patient seen by Eljamel. He said: 'There are very few of us who us who did not require further surgeries and treatment as a result of the damage done by Eljamel at Ninewells. The Walton have a duty of candour as well as a duty of care to their patients. Their silence is unconscionable.' Eljamel also worked at two hospitals in Dublin before joining NHS Tayside's neurosurgery department at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee in 1995, rising to lead the department. As patients came forward with claims of botched surgeries, horror stories began to emerge questioning Eljamel's skill. Despite a 2013 review which found patients had been harmed, NHS Tayside failed to suspend him and instead allowed him to continue operating on patients 'under supervision' until the following year. In 2014, Eljamel resigned and moved to Libya where he continues to operate. After years of criticism, the Scottish Government agreed to a judge-led inquiry into the scandal. Victims are still likely to wait a further two years or more to know whether any charges will be brought by police, who are also investigating NHS Tayside over the case. Kelly, 65, said: 'This is one of the biggest health scandals Scotland has ever seen. But the news Eljamel operated for four years at a Liverpool hospital opens it up to being a national scandal, and that is the reason why the Scottish inquiry must now reconsider its terms of reference to include national regulatory bodies as a matter of urgency. 'We need to see the UK regulator being brought in to examine what went on before Eljamel arrived at Ninewells, including what happened in Liverpool and what was known about him there.' Kelly was operated on at NHS Ninewells in 2007 when Eljamel was supposed to carry out surgery on a thoracic disc problem The former radio presenter said: 'It was seven years later in 2014, when I had to undergo an MRI scan, that the terrible truth emerged. Major surgery had been performed cutting my body extensively, my ribs were cracked open and I was hours on the operating table, but Eljamel did not perform the surgery he was supposed to do. 'I was sewn back up and lied to for years by health officials. I'm now so disabled, I couldn't even pick a handkerchief off the floor. I'm in constant pain and my poor wife has to look after me like she would look after a toddler.' © Mhairi Edwards Fellow campaigner Jules Rose, 57, from Kinross, who had a tear duct removed by Eljamel instead of a brain tumour, said: 'All the relevant UK-wide regulatory bodies must now be involved in the Weir Inquiry or it will end up as nothing more than the contaminated blood inquiry carried out by Lord Penrose which was labelled a whitewash. 'We need to see a proper nationwide investigation by the appropriate regulator which will examine what Eljamel did at every single hospital he worked at in the UK, and that must include an audit to check exactly how many patients were exposed to harm.'
