A furious Fife SNP member heckled and confronted Humza Yousaf in protest at his failure to order a public inquiry into a disgraced Dundee doctor who harmed her.
Theresa Mallett, 61, from Glenrothes, is quitting the party she has supported for decades in anger over their stance on an investigation into rogue ex-NHS Tayside doctor Sam Eljamel.
The Fife grandmother told us she decided to “go Rambo” in a bid to make the first minister listen to patients during his speech at the independence event in Dundee.
Mr Yousaf briefly left the stage and went to speak to Ms Mallett, who was sitting in the audience, after she interrupted his speech to party members.
He urged crowd members not to jeer after her heckling was given a hostile reception by the hundreds of SNP members in attendance.
Ms Mallett made an emotional plea to the first minister for a full public inquiry to be held into the neurosurgeon who left her with life-changing injuries.
🗣️“Folks, let’s not boo.”
The moment a heckler disrupts Humza Yousaf’s flagship independence speech to SNP members.
The First Minister leaves the stage to try and engage with protester. pic.twitter.com/TcLahh2u7j
— Connor Gillies (@ConnorGillies) June 24, 2023
She tearfully said to Mr Yousaf she lives in constant pain due to her nightmare ordeal and told him she has been a nationalist for more than 30 years.
Ms Mallett later revealed the SNP leader asked her to stay so he could speak to her afterwards, but she declined.
However, the campaigner has said she plans to meet the first minister at a later date, where she will press her demands for an inquiry.
‘This is for Humza’
Ms Mallett told us: “This is for Humza. The buck stops with him. He is not just an SNP minister, he is Scotland’s First Minister.
“It’s this one issue. All he has to do is listen.”
The Glenrothes grandmother said she interrupted the SNP leader to bring attention to her cause and “get people talking”.
She told us: “It gets people talking. I’ll cancel my direct debits. Humza can have the bloody membership card.”
Mr Eljamel repeatedly botched operations on patients and left them with life-changing injuries while working in Dundee between 1995 and 2013.
Mr Yousaf rejected calls for a public inquiry on Monday, claiming Mr Eljamel would be unable to answer key questions since he fled Scotland.
However, victims of the disgraced neurosurgeon insist any probe should centre on NHS Tayside and what the health board knew about his malpractice.
SNP health chief Michael Matheson is considering an independent review into the scandal, but campaigners say this does not go far enough.
Last week whistleblowers claimed NHS Tayside chiefs were aware of concerns around Mr Eljamel four years before he was suspended.
Ms Mallett went under the knife to be treated for sciatica in December 2012, just months before the rogue surgeon was placed under supervision.
She was told the surgery was a complete success the following day, but now lives in complete pain and struggles to get by.
Ms Mallett only became involved with the campaign for an inquiry recently, and told us it had given her a fresh drive.
‘I’ve got a purpose’
She said: “I feel I’ve got a purpose in my life now. I don’t have a lot else in my life. This is something I can do.
“I just have to live with the pain now. There’s pain 24 hours a day.
“I can’t bend, I can’t lift, I walk very slowly. I have to get help with housework, my cooking, and my cleaning.”
But she added: “I still have to get on with my life. I still have two grandsons to be with and a daughter to support.”
NHS Tayside maintain bosses only became aware of concerns around Mr Eljamel in 2013, when he was placed under supervision.
A spokesperson said: “NHS Tayside were not previously aware of these concerns by former trainees relating to their experiences of Professor Eljamel.
“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.”