The Scottish Government has apologised for the impact on patients of former Ninewells Hospital surgeon Professor Muftah Salem Eljamel.
The Government said it is “very sorry” after a series of operations left patients claiming their long-term health had been affected but it ruled out an inquiry, stating it is “satisfied” that a “thorough and wide-ranging” investigation by NHS Tayside will “prevent this happening again in future”.
NHS Tayside has also written to all patients directly affected to reiterate its regret at what has happened.
The decision not to go ahead with an inquiry follows the collapse of the General Medical Council’s (GMC) retrospective investigation into Mr Eljamel after he relinquished his licence last month. The surgeon was being investigated after being suspended last year because a patient underwent surgery on the wrong spinal disc.
Mr Eljamel, from Newport in Fife, also had to step down from his teaching and research posts at Dundee University after the interim order by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.
He subsequently retired from the NHS and Health Minister Shona Robison ruled out any inquiry while the GMC investigation was ongoing.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We are very sorry for the impact that the actions of Professor Eljamel have had on patients. NHS Tayside has written to all patients directly affected to reiterate this.
“When the actions of Professor Eljamel came to light NHS Tayside commenced an immediate investigation and we are satisfied that this was thorough and wide-ranging.
“NHS Tayside have now put in place the necessary governance arrangements to prevent this happening again in future. There are no plans for an inquiry above and beyond the thorough investigation carried out by the board.
“Of course, any learning from that investigation will be spread across NHS Scotland,” the spokeswoman added.
Mr Eljamel’s decision to reliquish his licence ahead of a GMC hearing to decide his future means “he can no longer practise as a doctor in the UK”.
The GMC cannot investigate doctors who are not registered and Mr Eljamel has refused to answer questions about what happened.
The floodgates effectively opened when former Dundee radio DJ Patrick Kelly called for a public inquiry after claiming he was the victim of a “botched operation” by Mr Eljamel in 2007.
Since then many more people have come forward to say they were also left with long-term health difficulties after surgery by Mr Eljamel. They include Kirriemuir man David Vile, who claimed he was left on a cocktail of medication after undergoing two discectomies.
Mr Kelly said yesterday: “This is absolutely ridiculous that he has got away with this. People have been left with serious disabilities caused by him and it must be investigated.”