Disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel performed an unnecessary spinal operation after “seriously misinterpreting” an MRI scan, a public inquiry has been told.
The inquiry was told Eljamel carried out almost 500 private procedures between 2002 and 2013 at Dundee’s Fernbrae Hospital, in addition to his NHS work.
Eljamel, who is believed to have harmed hundreds of patients, was a consultant NHS neurosurgeon at Ninewells Hospital from 1995 until his suspension in 2013.
The inquiry was told eight of his private patients had raised concerns about Eljamel in the four years following his suspension.
A subsequent independent review of one of the cases from 2010 concluded there was a strong case that Eljamel had “seriously misinterpreted an MRI scan and subsequently undertook an unnecessary operation”.
It said Eljamel’s interpretation of the scan differed significantly from other colleagues, including a second-opinion neurosurgeon.
The review report indicated that this raised the question as to “whether or not Prof SE (Sam Eljamel) has the clinical competence to work as an unsupervised consultant in this area of practice”.
The inquiry was also shown Eljamel’s resignation letter to Fernbrae Hospital’s chief executive in December 2013, following his suspension from NHS Tayside.
It read: “I am sorry that it had (sic) gone that far and I will keep you posted if I hear anything else.”
The inquiry heard that Fernbrae Hospital closed in 2019, the year before its operators BMI Healthcare were acquired by Circle Health Group.
The inquiry heard evidence from Peter James, chief medical officer of Circle Health Group, which had no involvement with the running of Fernbrae, but had inherited legal responsibility for BMI Healthcare.