Victims who suffered at the hands of ex-NHS Tayside doctor Professor Sam Eljamel ramped up their calls for a public inquiry with a protest outside Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital.
Dozens of demonstrators held a rally near the hospital in the west of the city on Wednesday as they held up placards demanding a national investigation into the surgeon.
Prof Eljamel botched dozens of operations while employed in Dundee. He was ordered to pay one patient £2.8 million in compensation and also removed the wrong part of another woman’s body.
Campaigners want a probe into why NHS Tayside allowed him to initially continue working after the alarm had been raised over his conduct.
SNP health chief Humza Yousaf has repeatedly refused to budge on demands for a Holyrood inquiry and claims it is for the health board to answer further questions.
Lead campaigner Jules Rose, who had a tear gland removed instead of a tumour by Prof Eljamel, said the protest was intended to put more pressure on the government.
She told The Courier: “We are coming back with the facts of why we need a public inquiry.
“We’re talking about why NHS Tayside allowed Eljamel to be given free reign for such a long time, enabling him to knowingly harm patients.
“I have serious concerns over what NHS Tayside was doing or – more to the point – not doing to oversee his clinical practice.”
Ms Rose said a total of 48 people claiming to be victims of Prof Eljamel have now come forward to her.
Last month campaigners rallied outside Holyrood with their demands for a full national investigation into the rogue surgeon.
Ms Rose said recent protests – including today’s near Ninewells – had helped bring victims together after years of suffering.
She told us: “I get the feeling that the patients are hopeful because we’re all coming together as a collective. We’re all supporting one another. It’s strength in numbers.
“We all have this underlying understanding of the pain that we have endured and suffered, and that gives us hope.”
Mr Yousaf said: “I am not convinced that a public inquiry is necessary, or would help to provide additional information or bring closure to former patients.”
Further questions over Prof Eljamel’s character have been raised in recent weeks after it emerged he falsely claimed on his website he had completed a specialist medical degree in the United States.
The disgraced doctor also bizarrely paid to be awarded a fake “Man of the Year” award which he then used to boost his own CV.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “We are aware of the protest outside the grounds of Ninewells Hospital today.
“We continue to be in contact directly with Ms Rose and have offered her another meeting with the chair, chief executive and medical director. Ms Rose has advised that she welcomes this further opportunity for discussion.”
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