Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Disgraced Dundee surgeon Eljamel operated on more than 100 patients during ‘supervision’

Campaigner Jules Rose claimed the latest revelations only strengthened the case of patients for a public inquiry.

Disgraced ex-Dundee surgeon Professor Eljamel. Image: DC Thomson.
Disgraced ex-Dundee surgeon Professor Eljamel. Image: DC Thomson.

Disgraced former NHS Tayside surgeon Sam Eljamel carried out more than 100 operations after being placed under supervision before he was eventually suspended.

New Freedom of Information data reveals the rogue medic conducted a total of 141 surgeries between June 2013 and mid-December, when he was placed on leave.

He was able to continue botching operations on patients during this period, even though NHS Tayside admits being aware of concerns over his behaviour in June.

Campaigner Jules Rose, who had her tear gland removed by Mr Eljamel instead of a tumour, first went under the knife in August 2013.

She said the latest revelations are extremely worrying and raise questions about the supervision process.

Ms Rose – who was left with PTSD as a result of her horrific ordeal – told us: “My grave concern is the fact that NHS Tayside allowed Prof Eljamel to continue butchering patients whilst he was under so-called supervision.

Jules Rose has been leading calls for a public inquiry.

“This is another strong reason why the only way for NHS Tayside to be held to account is through a public inquiry.”

Despite the demands of furious patients, the Scottish Government has repeatedly rejected demands for a full public probe to be held.

An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “Mr Eljamel was suspended from NHS Tayside on December 10, 2013, following the outcome of the external review into his clinical practice.

“NHS Tayside apologises to former patients of the surgeon and remains committed to do whatever is required to support any independent process which is being set up by Scottish Government.

“The board continues to work with the government regarding these next steps and we would again encourage who has concerns about Mr Eljamel to contact the Patient Liaison Response Team.”

Mr Eljamel repeatedly botched operations on patients. Image: DC Thomson.

The new figures, obtained by the Scottish Tories, show Mr Eljamel carried out 30 operations in July, the first full month where he was being supervised by bosses.

He was at the helm for 33 surgeries in August, ten in September, nine in October, and 22 in November.

The doctor carried out an additional 13 operations in December, working right up until he was fully suspended by NHS Tayside.

In 2013 as a whole, Mr Eljamel’s last year practising in Scotland, he was trusted with performing a total of 249 surgeries.

More than 100 patients have now come forward claiming they were harmed at the hands of the bungling surgeon.

NHS Tayside bosses have repeatedly insisted they were completely in the dark about any concerns around Mr Eljamel before 2013.

But whistleblowers previously alleged the alarm was raised to the health board as early as 2009, four years before his suspension.

Conservative MSP Liz Smith.
Conservative MSP Liz Smith. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

Mid Scotland and Fife Tory MSP Liz Smith said: “It’s deeply concerning that Mr Eljamel continued to be allowed to operate on such a huge number of patients after his malpractice had been flagged up to NHS Tayside.

“Tragically, and avoidably, this led to even more patients suffering as a result of his negligence and incompetence.

“The fact that information like this is having to be dragged out of the health board underlines the need for a full, independent public inquiry to get to the bottom of this appalling scandal.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the significant ongoing concern and distress being experienced by former patients of Mr Eljamel.

“The Scottish Government has committed to establishing an independent commission that could engage directly with former patients and deliver answers quicker than a public inquiry would.”

Conversation