Tracking a public inquiry
We are a group of patients adversely impacted by the direct actions of surgeon Mr Muftah Salem Eljamel who practiced at hospitals in NHS Tayside in Scotland from the 1990s.
In 2013 concerning information began to appear indicating multiple problems affecting patients under his care.
Disappointingly NHS Tayside has not, to date, conducted a satisfactorily transparent investigation. The Scottish Government has been selective in their scrutiny and has, so far, not had a satisfactory external investigation into the obvious significant failings within the governance of the NHS and has stated that it is an internal NHS Tayside issue to provide patients with answers. Answers we have been seeking for over a decade without any candour on their own part into internal errors or failures in governance that enabled any surgeon to cause such a level of harm.
This is an issue relevant to all patients in NHS Scotland: as the evident internal bias and lack of transparency, stemming from the very cultures and systems that should put patient rights first, failed catastrophically. The unwillingness to provide clear answers suggests an attempt to cover up the wider issues that resulted in recurring long term harm and injury for multiple patients over a prolonged period.
From the offset NHS Tayside failed to check a surgeon’s claimed credentials, and then failed to effectively ensure his practice was appropriate and safe. While there is no denying the multiple repeated clinical errors and harm he caused, there is a fundamental lack of ownership and scrutiny of how such a level of sustained failure could occur in any public service for such a long time.
Without full unbiased external scrutiny there is no assurance that this isn’t happening again on any level in any part of our health service right now.
The only way for everyone to feel that both the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland are taking this seriously is to have a public inquiry.
Whilst a public inquiry was announced in September 2023, alongside an ‘individual clinical review’ for patients – no time frame has been forthcoming for either of these – we continue our quest for answers. We are tracking the work to establish these.
There is also an ongoing Police Scotland investigation into Eljamel, with requests from patients to widen to the entirety of NHS Tayside and other staff involved.
The group continues to add new members regularly – find out how you can help.
Featured Media
The Courier – Ex-patients of disgraced surgeon call for answers — Scottish Secretary of State (12 September 2024)
Furious Eljamel patients are piling pressure on police six years after an investigation into the former NHS Tayside surgeon's butchery began. Jules Rose and Pat Kelly, two leading campaigners, demanded answers outside Dundee's Bell Street station yesterday with a mock...
The Courier – Voices of Eljamel’s victims to be heard (7 September 2024)
Victims of disgraced NHS Tayside neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel are finally getting the chance to speak as the long-awaited public inquiry takes a step forward. Two sessions were announced for former patients after years of campaigning from dozens of people who say they...
The Courier – UK authorities left disgraced medic to build Libyan empire (4 September 2024)
The UK authorities took no action for years to stop disgraced ex-NHS Tayside surgeon Sam Eljamel from building his growing empire in Libya, The Courier can reveal. The lack of effort to thwart him can be exposed in our latest investigation of multiple health and...
Latest News
Archived: Lord Weir, Chair of Eljamel Public Inquiry, update 27th November 2024
[NOTE: This letter has been archived here for public information, the PDF is exactly as received except for one redaction of a previously unpublished contact detail for privacy reasons. Below is the text from the letter, formatting has been removed. Letter is dated...
Archived: Professor Wigmore, Chair of Independent Clinical Reviews, update 27th November 2024
[NOTE: This letter has been archived here for public information, the PDF is exactly as received except for Professor Stephen J Wigmore's signature which has been redacted for privacy. Below is the text from the letter, formatting has been removed.] For the attention...
Archived: Response to Public Inquiry Draft Terms of Reference and Meeting by Alan Ogilvie, former patient and campaigner – 1st and 22nd October 2024
Note: Alan Ogilvie is a campaigner within the Eljamel and NHS Tayside Patients' Action Group and allowed his feedback to Lord Weir to be archived here. Alan was operated on by Eljamel, in thec are of NHS Tayside, in 1995 at Dundee Royal Infirmary. Alan started this...