"Horrific disabilities": Eljamel inquiry hears patients were left permanently disabled after surgery
Patients of disgraced brain surgeon Sam Eljamel were left with "horrific" disabilities following his operations, a former MSP has told an inquiry.
On its first day of evidential hearings, the Eljamel Inquiry was told some patients allegedly had wrong parts of their bodies removed.
Eljamel was a consultant neurosurgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee from 1995 until his suspension in December 2013.
During that time he is thought to have harmed as many as 200 people and left some with life-changing injuries.
Eljamel resigned from his post in May 2014, removed himself from the general medical register the following year, and is now believed to be operating in Libya.
Jamie Dawson KC, the public inquiry’s senior counsel, opened proceedings on Tuesday.
This was followed by evidence from Liz Smith, the former Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland Fife, who represented patients affected by Eljamel’s practice.
She said testimony from her constituents had upset her "greatly" and many had asked "why on Earth this was allowed to happen".
Ms Smith said she had looked into why Eljamel had been allowed to continue practising despite "deep-seated concerns" being raised about him at earlier stages.
She said that as she spoke to patients and their families, she found the situation was more widespread than initially thought.
"I realised this was not an event on its own, there were other patients involved in what became a dreadful scandal," Ms Smith told the inquiry.
She also criticised the record-keeping around Eljamel’s medical practice, saying: "It’s absolutely appalling about some of the things that were happening and the lack of accurate medical notes that they (patients) had a right to be able to see."
Ms Smith added: "There are allegations that the wrong body parts were removed, and the physical disabilities - well they’re with the patients for the rest of their lives as we know.
"Some of these disabilities are quite horrific. People have lost their mobility, people have lost their means of looking after themselves."
Ms Smith said she was eventually persuaded that a public inquiry was "absolutely essential because all other means of trying to get to the truth had been exhausted".
She used the word "obfuscation" to describe the frustration and lack of direct and transparent information provided to patients by various organisations when requested.
Former patient Jules Rose, who led the campaign for a public inquiry, said it had been a "long, arduous and emotional journey" to reach this milestone, as the inquiry finally got under way.
During the first phase, which will last four weeks, Mr Dawson said the inquiry will hear from a wide range of witnesses including representatives of NHS Tayside, the Scottish government, the University of Dundee, and regulatory or professional bodies.
Phase two, which is due to begin in December, was expected to focus on evidence of former patients of Eljamel and from independent clinical reviews (ICR).
However, Mr Dawson said some of the planned ICR evidence will now need to be pushed back as a result of delays.
Politics Editor
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