A senior oncologist refused to be operated on by Sam Eljamel when she was diagnosed with a tumour as she “did not trust” the disgraced surgeon, it has emerged.
Dr Phyllis Windsor a cancer specialist who worked at NHS Tayside for 28 years, opted to travel to London for the serious procedure in 2006 due to concerns over Eljamel’s competency.
Eljamel, the former head of neurosurgery at NHS Tayside in Dundee, harmed dozens of patients before he was suspended in 2013.
Windsor’s concerns about Eljamel pre-date the earliest whistleblower reports into his malpractice in 2009.
Eljamel had told Windsor that he would fully remove her tumour in the pituitary gland, and then give her photodynamic therapy, which involves using light-sensitive medicine and a light source to destroy abnormal cells.She said: “I didn’t trust the guy. There was no discussion. He was just telling me what I would have done. I thought: no way. I don’t think he knew what he was doing. I wasn’t going to let him anywhere near my head.”
The Times (News UK), 12th July 2023 – archived below for public information.
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