A victim of disgraced Professor Sam Eljamel says the rogue Dundee doctor left her in so much pain she begged her mum to suffocate her.
Leann Sutherland’s NHS Tayside ordeal began in 2010 when she was sent for a scan after constantly suffering from migraines.
The 33-year-old businesswoman was then referred to the neurosurgeon – already causing concern among colleagues according to whistleblowers.
It led to the harrowing moment at Ninewells Hospital where, in unspeakable pain, Leann asked her mother Gwenn to end her life.
She told us: “Every single vein in my body prolapsed before they put a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line in.
“I was screaming in that much pain that it felt like acid was being pushed through my veins, to the point I was begging my mum to suffocate me.
“I begged my mum to murder her daughter.”
Leann claims she was used as an experimental study by Eljamel, now thought to be working as a surgeon in Libya.
And she insists the Scottish Government must hold nothing less than a full public inquiry into how he was able to harm patients for so long.
Humza Yousaf has rejected such pleas from campaigners and victims, saying questions would go unanswered given it is likely Eljamel will refuse to cooperate.
‘I had to fight for my life’
Leann, unable to have children after the ordeal, said: “I’m absolutely livid with Humza Yousaf and the SNP. I have zero respect for that man.
“I had to fight for my life, and now we’re having to fight for answers?
“I’m sorry Humza, this isn’t how this country rolls. We will continue to fight for our public inquiry. You have zero hope of us going away.”
Whistleblowers last week told the BBC that NHS Tayside bosses were aware of concerns surrounding Eljamel in 2009, years before his suspension.
But they insist immediate action was taken four years later when the alarm was raised over his behaviour.
In a statement, the health board said: “NHS Tayside were not previously aware of these concerns by former trainees relating to their experiences of Professor Eljamel, who was suspended by NHS Tayside in December 2013.
“We understandably take these concerns very seriously and we would encourage anyone who has concerns about Professor Eljamel to contact the Patient Liaison Response Team.”
‘Liberating to know we’re not wrong’
But one of the whistleblowers claimed to the Beeb junior doctors were silenced, saying: “It went all the way up to the board. They all knew about it.”
Leann was stunned to hear former colleagues of Eljamel had come forward after years of silence.
She said: “I was in shock. I am over the moon to hear it’s not in my head.
“It’s liberating to hear we were not wrong. We were not insane. We were manipulated into thinking this man was amazing.”
She added: “I have admiration for them coming forward now. I have no bad feelings towards these people.
“If I was a junior doctor and someone said to me, ‘If you open your mouth, you’re done’, I’d have done exactly the same thing.”
Leann is now a beauty therapist and runs her own firm.
But before her trauma at the hands of Eljamel, she dreamed of becoming a police officer.
Years after her life-changing hospital stay, she still requires crutches to walk and has a tube that runs through her body to control her spinal fluid.
She said: “I can’t have the career I want. I can’t have children.”
‘He was a robot’
Leann was operated on seven times by the disgraced neurosurgeon despite being told she would only need to go under the knife once.
She says Eljamel opted for surgery despite a letter from her GP saying acupuncture was more suitable.
Leann also told how brain fluid started to pour out her neck when the rogue doctor failed to seal a wound during her operation.
She says: “At the age of 20 I was given an MRI scan, and then I was told that I needed emergency brain surgery.
“There was a letter sent to my GP stating the best route to go down would be acupuncture.
“For this man to then change his mind and say she needs emergency brain surgery – what I now know is I was an early study, the perfect candidate.”
She ended up spending months in Ninewells as a result of his malpractice before she was finally able to go home.
Leann says Eljamel displayed no empathy or compassion throughout her hospital nightmare.
She said: “His demeanour was numb. He was a robot. He had an ego the size of a planet.”
Eljamel botched dozens of operations and left patients with lifelong injuries between 1995 and 2013 while working in Dundee as a neurosurgeon.
He gave up his right to practise in the UK in 2015.
The neurosurgeon’s lawyers later insisted NHS Tayside should have been equally culpable when he was ordered to pay one victim £2.8 million.
But judges rejected this argument and said Eljamel was solely liable for the payout.
Last year we revealed he lied about his credentials, failing to complete a specialist medical degree in the US before joining NHS Tayside.
The health board stands by its vetting of the disgraced surgeon.
Some Eljamel victims, including Pat Kelly, doubt he even showed up for their surgery and think he left junior doctors to perform surgeries unsupervised.
Responding to these claims last week, NHS Tayside said: “Training guidelines state junior surgeons are supervised at all times, with the level of the supervision dependant on the trainees’ experience and the procedure complexity.”
In light of the claims from whistleblowers, the Scottish Government is now considering an independent probe – which is different from a public inquiry – as a possible next step.
Leann believes there has been a cover-up – but she says there is no hiding place now for the authorities.
She said: “They can try all they want. The truth will come out.”
When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org ,or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.