Woman had tear gland removed instead of brain tumour by butcher surgeon who was allowed to operate on 111 patients despite concerns raised over botched surgeries
More than 100 patients were ‘at risk of harm’ after warnings about a rogue surgeon were ignored.
Brain surgeon Professor Sam Eljamel was described as ‘a bad doctor’.
Despite harming patients with botched surgeries, the chiefs of the health board allowed him to continue operating until he was suspended at the end of 2013.
An investigation by NHS Tayside has found that the neurosurgeon was not properly supervised, despite concerns about his abilities.
In the last six months of his employment, he operated on 111 patients without supervision – even though bosses were aware of serious complaints.
Brain surgeon Professor Sam Eljamel was called ‘a bad doctor’ but despite botched surgeries, NHS Tayside chiefs of health allowed him to continue operating until his suspension at the end of 2013.
Eljamel was chief of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, leaving patients with life-changing injuries. Despite concerns about his practice, he was allowed to operate on 111 patients without supervision in the six months prior to his suspension in 2013.
I went in to have the tumor removed. But instead he cut out my tear gland…
Patient Jules Rose, 55
Patient Jules Rose, 55, had a tear gland removed by Professor Eljamel instead of a brain tumour. She has suffered from PTSD since the surgery.
The mother-of-two, from Kinross, was operated on by the surgeon in August 2013 – after being placed under supervision due to serious concerns about his work.
Ms. Rose, who works in education, has dry eyes and cannot wear contact lenses.
She is a member of a patient action group set up to campaign for a public inquiry, and has criticized NHS Tayside’s internal review.
Mr Rose said: ‘NHS Tayside have marked their own homework with this assessment because they have carried it out themselves.
‘My concern is that we are now hearing from Professor Eljamel that there are 111 patients who may have been exposed to risk of injury after he was placed under surveillance.
NHS Tayside knew they would suspend him when they had me operated on in December 2013. This is a bigger scandal than we realized. He has butchered patients and the seriousness and seriousness of this needs a public inquiry.”
Ms Rose’s campaign work included a petition and protests outside the Scottish Parliament.
She added: “Several patients presenting in increasing numbers have suffered harm as a result of inappropriate, unnecessary and in many cases dangerous care by this surgeon.
“Many of these patients are now living with lifelong and life-changing, disabling injuries.
“As patients, we were individually led to believe/misled that our experience was a singular incident.”
Ms Rose added: ‘There are many critical questions that still remain unanswered – and as such there is no guarantee that such a scenario could not happen again any day, anywhere in our healthcare system in Scotland.’
NHS Tayside said yesterday that patients currently undergoing surgery will receive a letter of apology.
The Scottish government has promised a further independent inquiry into the scandal.
But the Tory Party, Liberal Democrat Party and Labor Party are calling for a fully independent public inquiry.
Tory MSP Liz Smith said: ‘These latest revelations are devastating.
“They prove beyond any doubt that NHS Tayside failed to act appropriately when they knew there were very serious concerns about Professor Eljamel’s medical practices.
“Just as scandalous is the fact that they have been hiding the truth from patients for years and the Scottish Government has failed to address this. A full public inquiry is essential.”
Professor Eljamel worked as a neurosurgeon at NHS Tayside from 1995 to December 2013.
The former chief of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee left patients with life-changing injuries.
In one case, he removed a woman’s tear gland instead of a tumor.
A December 2012 complaint led to a Significant Clinical Event Analysis (SCEA), revealing problems with his clinical practice.
The SCEA escalated the issue, as well as two other complaints, to the medical board.
The Board launched an inquiry in June 2013, with the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) conducting an evaluation.
In the six months that followed, Professor Eljamel operated on 111 patients, nine of whom filed a complaint and two filed a legal claim. He was under indirect supervision, meaning he was not directly supervised in the operating room by another neurosurgeon.
The NHS Tayside report stated: ‘These patients were at potential risk of harm from the inadequacy of monitoring arrangements.’
Yesterday at a board meeting, Dr Pamela Johnson, Executive Medical Director of NHS Tayside, said: ‘Scotland Police were involved at one point. I can’t give you more information than that.’
The RCS warned in October 2013, midway through the supervision period, about the surgeon’s ‘honesty’, saying there were signs he was ‘a poor doctor’ with ‘poor communication, bad behavior and complaints’, but NHS Tayside made no escalation of supervision.
An employee filed a complaint during that time, but “no outcome or action was identified,” the report said. Professor Eljamel was allowed to continue working for another three months before being suspended in December 2013.
He struck himself off the medical register and left Scotland to live and work in Libya.
Some of his patients have experienced life-changing consequences, including chronic pain and PTSD.
The NHS Tayside review also found that there were three complaints in 2011 and 2012, rising to eight before he was suspended, with 84 complaints recorded after that.
Health Minister Michael Matheson said: ‘I have made it clear that this needs investigation, independent of both NHS Tayside and the Scottish Government. Soon we will give more details about this.’
Police Scotland said the investigation was ongoing.