A senior NHS Tayside doctor has told an inquiry that there was a missed opportunity to stop brain surgeon Dr Sam Eljamel from operating years before he eventually left the profession.
Dr James Cotton, executive medical director of NHS Tayside, said he would have stopped Dr Eljamel from practising after concerns were raised about his surgical work. Dr Eljamel was placed under supervision in June 2013.
Asked by senior counsel Jamie Dawson KC whether something had gone wrong with the supervision arrangements, Dr Cotton replied: “Fundamentally, yes.” He said he could not understand why Dr Eljamel had been allowed to continue operating alone, or to operate at all, given the concerns about patient safety.
The inquiry heard that the supervision involved weekly meetings to discuss patients but did not address Dr Eljamel’s surgical practice itself. Dr Cotton said a proper risk assessment should have considered direct one-to-one supervision, suspending him or stopping him from operating.
Asked whether Dr Eljamel should have been removed from practice, Dr Cotton said: “Yes, I don’t think he should have been.” He also agreed that complaints and other allegations could and should have led to him being struck off sooner.
The inquiry heard that a fellow medical practitioner complained to the NHS Tayside chief executive in December 2012, alleging botched sight surgery. Another complaint about sight surgery had been made in 2007.
Dr Cotton denied that there had been a cover-up of Dr Eljamel’s actions. The inquiry, before Lord Weir, continues.
The supplied evidence contains differing accounts of Dr Eljamel’s eventual departure: one version says he was dismissed in 2014, while another says he voluntarily resigned rather than face a medical tribunal.
