NHS Tayside chiefs are slammed over their handling of disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel in a bombshell new report.
The Courier understands management at the health board face criticism over their June 2013 decision to place the rogue doctor under light-touch supervision rather than suspending him.
Eljamel – whose botched operations left some patients with life-changing injuries – was eventually removed from his post in December 2013.
He carried out more than 100 procedures during that six-month period, operating on patients in theatre with no scrutiny of his work other than a consultant neurosurgeon joining him on his ward rounds once a week.
Review findings
A “due diligence” review set to be published on Thursday reveals management failed to recognise issues relating to the surgeon’s behaviour – signs that, along with patient and staff concerns, should have led to him being removed from his role pending further investigation.
The findings vindicate the campaigning of Eljamel’s victims, who have accused NHS Tayside bosses of mishandling complaints against him for more than a decade.
Despite the concerns over his practice, the shamed doctor was still regularly at the operating table while he was being supervised.
He carried out 141 surgeries from the start of June 2013 until December 9, just before he was placed on leave.
In August that year, he botched an operation on Kinross mum Jules Rose by removing her tear gland instead of a tumour.
A Royal College of Surgeons report later told how the medic – who worked for the health board for 18 years – regularly left trainee surgeons to operate alone without supervision.
‘Unresolved concerns’
We revealed earlier this month that NHS Tayside was carrying out a “due diligence” probe to “gain a better organisational understanding” into how the Eljamel crisis was handled by senior leaders.
The review also aims to address “unresolved concerns” flagged up by the Scottish Government, with its findings scheduled to be presented at a board meeting tomorrow.
In June, whistleblowers claimed NHS Tayside managers knew about concerns over Eljamel in 2009 – four years before he was suspended.
Health chiefs deny the allegation, while calls for a public inquiry have been rejected by First Minister Humza Yousaf.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “As we advised previously, the Executive Medical Director’s findings of the Due Diligence Review of Documentation Held Relating to Professor Eljamel are being presented at the Board meeting tomorrow (August 31) for discussion and approval.”
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