Eljamel: Patient safety commissioner not convinced a second scandal would be avoided

A public inquiry is now under way into the disgraced neurosurgeon Professor Sam Eljamel, who harmed dozens of patients and left some with life-changing injuries.

Professor Eljamel had been working as head of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. So far, almost 500 of his former patients have applied to an independent clinical review to have their cases reviewed.

However, Scotland’s Patient Safety Commissioner Karen Titchener has told a key Holyrood committee she is not confident this type of scandal could be avoided in the future due to poor whistleblowing policies.

Speaking at the health, social care and sport committee, she said: “I am not confident it wouldn’t happen again.

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“At the minute what I’m hearing is there is a closing of ranks and shutting things down.

“I’m waiting on the public inquiry and don’t want to dirty the waters, but within that board [NHS Tayside] I still have concerns, so I do think we have to start trying to open doors that have been closed and trying to stop boards closing ranks and stopping things.

“There is nothing safe about that.”

She added she also does not understand why Professor Eljamel’s incompetence “wasn’t challenged at the time”, as the rogue surgeon was “clearly” going outside the scope of his abilities “every day he practiced”.

Campaigner Jules Rose said she believes there could be an Eljamel-style scandal happening right now in Scotland’s NHS.

Ms Rose was operated on by the rogue surgeon who removed her tear gland instead of a brain tumour.

Speaking to The Scotsman, she said: “I don’t believe the culture in the NHS has changed at all.

“There are no sanctions and no oversight when health boards mess up because they’re marking their own homework.

“They say ‘we are sorry, we will get it right next time’.

“This could absolutely happen again because of the toxic culture in the NHS where covering things up trumps patient safety - another Eljamel scandal could be ongoing right now because there are bad smells all over the place.

“History will repeat itself.”

Ms Rose said she had a “positive” meeting with the patient safety commissioner and said she needs to be supported to bring in the changes she wants.

NHS Tayside has been approached for comment.

Ms Titchener also told MSPs on this committee that she wants to improve whistleblowing policies across all Scottish health boards, adding that accountability is one of the biggest failings in the ongoing Queen Elizabeth University Hospital scandal.

Seven deaths are now being investigated at the super-hospital in Glasgow. Last month NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde admitted there was a link between water contamination and infections in child cancer patients, and said the hospital had opened too early despite safety concerns.

Whistleblowers at the hospital say they had been bullied, gaslit and threatened with losing their jobs for speaking out on the issues at the hospital.

Ms Titchener said: “Accountability is the biggest failing. People are able to hide behind the institution, so accountability is one of the first things I will be looking to.

“That’s not about blame, but we can’t change without accountability.

“If people aren’t speaking up and saying ‘yeah, we got that wrong’, nothing is going to change.

“Most patients just want to hear that, hear ‘do you know what, that care was terrible and I’m really sorry’.”

Ms Titchener added: “I will not let this go until accountability is recognised.

“If we are brushing things under the carpet, nothing will get better.

“Scotland does a lot of things well, so let's make sure patient safety is at a globally-recognised level.

“I want Scotland to be the safest place in the world to have surgery, to go to A&E, and we have got to do that together.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said it has welcomed the public inquiry and said it recognises how important it is for the victims.

They said: “We are sincerely sorry again to all patients who have suffered because of the treatment they received from Mr Eljamel.

“NHS Tayside’s due diligence review of Mr Eljamel’s clinical practice, published in 2023, identified significant failings in relation to clinical supervision, governance processes and handling of complaints.

“Since the publication of the due diligence review, and the subsequent announcement of the public inquiry, NHS Tayside has fully committed to making improvements and we believe our clinical and professional governance processes are demonstrably different to those which were in place more than a decade ago.

“However, we accept that the failings identified in the due diligence report have undermined the trust and confidence of patients, families and staff, and we will continue to work hard to try to rebuild that. We know this will only be possible by being open and transparent.

“NHS Tayside will continue to cooperate with the Eljamel inquiry and will be accountable for its decision-making and actions taken in response to Mr Eljamel’s practice and the concerns raised.”