As readers know, I have been representing many of the patients butchered by the rogue neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel for over a decade.
The Eljamel Inquiry recently published its terms of reference which means, at long last, investigations into what went so wrong at NHS Tayside will be underway.
However, while it was presumed that Eljamel’s harm to patients happened while he was in the employment of NHS Tayside, it has now been revealed that Eljamel had, in fact, been previously employed at the Walton Centre for Neurosurgery in Liverpool for four years. Potentially, this will widen the scope of this scandal. It raises many questions as to whether patients were also harmed by Eljamel in Liverpool before he began employment at NHS Tayside.
The Department of Health and Social Care has rightly called for hospitals to check their records in light of this new information. But I was very concerned to read that, when approached, Walton’s health officials refused to confirm whether Eljamel had been employed there citing data protection laws as justification. I very much hope this is not - as former patients in Tayside have alleged – another attempt by a health board to hide from accountability and cover it up.
Very disturbingly indeed, The Sunday Post also found that Eljamel was appointed as a medical advisor between 2007 and 2009 by the English health regulator the Healthcare Commission. This position meant Eljamel would have been able to advise on clinical standards and the regulation of other clinicians, despite the obvious irregularities in his CV.
Meanwhile, the UK authorities, in co-operation with Scottish authorities and the police, are making every effort to track down Eljamel who is continuing to practise on patients in Libya. Recent footage entered the public domain of him operating on patients in Libya including on a baby.
While patients very much hope that Eljamel will be extradited to face justice, this will require he is officially charged under the ongoing police investigation.
I will continue to do everything in my power to represent all the former patients who have come to me in the best way l can.
