'Furious' Eljamel patients say NHS Tayside failed in its duty

Patients of disgraced brain surgeon Sam Eljamel say they are “furious” and accused NHS Tayside of failing in its duties.

Mr Eljamel was a consultant neurosurgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee from 1995 until his suspension in December 2013.

A public inquiry is taking place after patients of Mr Eljamel raised concerns that he had harmed as many as 200 people.

Stage one hearings had been scheduled for April, but were postponed due to concerns around the venue at Waverley Gate in Edinburgh.

Former patient Jules Rose led the campaign for a public inquiry STV News

Current chief executive of NHS Tayside, Nicky Connor, gave evidence to the Eljamel Inquiry during its second day of evidential hearings on Wednesday.

She has been accused by Mr Eljamel’s patients and victims of not knowing, or answering in detail, simple questions about the medical malpractice of Mr Eljamel.

Former patient Jules Rose, who led the campaign for a public inquiry, accused Ms Connor of failing to answer simple questions and of not knowing basic information about the scandal.

“We’re all upset – we’re furious,” Ms Rose said.

“This just evidences again that NHS Tayside are failing in their duty of candour.

“Myself and the patients have been trying to find out answers to our questions, and Ms Connor can’t even answer them under oath correctly, or she doesn’t have the answer.

“In a way, it’s music to our ears because we now feel vindicated. What we have been shouting for, campaigning for, and the painful, stressful, traumatic journey that we’ve been on – it just highlights the toxicity of NHS Tayside.”

Ms Connor was appointed chief executive of NHS Tayside in 2024, after the Scottish Government announced a public inquiry would be held.

During her tenure, the health board has come under fire after it emerged about 40 hard copy theatre logbooks linked to Mr Eljamel had been destroyed by NHS Tayside employees in 2025 – despite a “do not destroy” order that was issued by inquiry chairman Lord Weir in October 2024.

Current chief executive of NHS Tayside, Nicky Connor STV News

An external investigation, undertaken by AAB, found there was “no malicious intent”, and instead said “inadequate” systems and processes contributed to the destruction of the logbooks.

Ms Connor was questioned about the destruction of the logbooks at the inquiry on Wednesday, and she accepted the incident has “eroded trust and had a significant impact on patients”.

She said: “I am personally sorry for the impact of logbooks on patients, I am recognising that it should not have happened and it did.”

Ms Connor also told the inquiry she accepts accountability for the logbooks’ destruction as the accountable officer for NHS Tayside, but said she does not accept personal responsibility.

“I am not intending to resign as part of this,” she said.

She claimed she took both “immediate and sustained actions” after she was made aware of the logbooks’ destruction, and she told the inquiry NHS Tayside now has an “absolutely robust framework” in place to prevent similar failures in the future.

“I was not responsible for the individual actions that took place, nor was I directly involved in the destruction of the logbooks, but that does not negate the responsibility that I hold and discharge through my team to ensure the logbooks were under the records are kept safe,” Ms Connor said.

She said NHS Tayside “fully accepts” there have been a range of failures around document management and communication.

Counsel to the inquiry, Jamie Dawson KC, acknowledged the steps taken by the health board to improve the situation, but said: “None of that will bring any of the logbooks back”.

“We have lost a considerable body of evidence that would have been extremely important to this inquiry,” he said.

Ms Connor replied: “I accept the independent review is absolutely clear this should not have happened, and I want to reiterate my sincere apology to former patients, families, to the inquiry, and to the independent case review”.

The inquiry was told on Tuesday that patients of Mr Eljamel were left with “horrific” disabilities following his operations, and some allegedly had the wrong parts of their bodies removed.

The inquiry, in Edinburgh, continues.