Well being board administration who let a neurosurgeon proceed working on sufferers regardless of understanding of great complaints towards him are dealing with calls to resign.
A damning inner report printed on Thursday discovered that NHS Tayside didn’t put in place ample monitoring of Prof Sam Eljamel, regardless of a rising variety of complaints.
The physician’s sufferers, who’ve been combating for recognition of hurt executed for nearly a decade, mentioned they felt vindicated by the report however renewed their requires a full public inquiry into what they imagine is years of negligence, cover-ups and unhealthy governance.
“It’s another step forward, but this is the fifth review conducted at taxpayers’ expense where they are marking their own homework,” mentioned Jules Rose, a longtime campaigner who had a tear gland eliminated by Eljamel as an alternative of a mind tumour.
“This report doesn’t highlight anything new to us, and is just further evidence of incompetence and management failure. We need a public inquiry as well as healthcare and support for all those patients who are struggling with pain and disability every day.”
Many within the group have confronted devastating penalties after therapy by Eljamel, together with paralysis, blindness, nerve injury, fixed ache and extreme incontinence.
In July one affected person, Theresa Mallett, instructed the Guardian she had suffered “soul-destroying” ache for greater than a decade since a botched sciatica operation.
The report criticised NHS Tayside administration for “inadequate assessment of risk and consideration of patient safety”, and mentioned the physician – then head of neurosurgery – was put beneath oblique supervision in June 2013 relatively than suspended, which didn’t occur till December.
Within the intervening months he was allowed to function on 111 sufferers unsupervised, regardless of being beneath medical supervision after senior administration have been made conscious of great complaints, with the report admitting “patients were placed at potential risk of harm due to the inadequacy of the supervision arrangements”.
“It was clear that he was not being truthful with his patients about procedures and he did not share mistakes with colleagues for learning and reflection,” it mentioned.
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Sufferers who have been operated on throughout this time – 9 of whom subsequently made complaints and two who submitted authorized claims – will obtain a letter of apology from the well being board. However Jules Rose says she is conscious of an additional 128 sufferers harmed by the surgeon earlier than July 2013.
Eljamel gave up his proper to practise within the UK in 2015 and is believed to be working in Libya.
Apologising to Eljamel’s former sufferers, the NHS Tayside government medical director, Dr Pamela Johnston, mentioned: “We recognise that many former patients remain understandably very upset and unhappy with what has happened. NHS Tayside remains committed to do whatever is required to support the independent commission which is being set up by the Scottish government to respond to patients’ ongoing concerns.”
Because the report was printed, MSPs from throughout Holyrood’s opposition events joined forces to resume requires a full unbiased public inquiry into the Eljamel case, and the Scottish Labour deputy chief, Jackie Baillie, demanded the resignation of NHS Tayside’s management staff, describing it as “one of the greatest scandals in recent years.”
