In my last Kinross Newsletter column, I provided readers with an update to the Eljamel and NHS Tayside scandal, one year on from the momentous public inquiry announcement. Having now attended the first meeting of the Eljamel Public Inquiry at the Apex City Quay Hotel in Dundee at the beginning of October, I wish to inform readers of my initial reactions.
The meeting was the first opportunity to lay out the draft terms of reference and to hear from the inquiry board. The addresses from both Lord Weir and Jamie Dawson KC were very reassuring and compassionate, as they outlined their responsibilities in relation to the inquiry. We now know the inquiry will be undertaken in Edinburgh but will also be broadcast for those unable to make the journey.
It was also announced that the public inquiry would be provisionally named the ‘The Eljamel Inquiry’. We were assured by the board that the short title does not mean the inquiry’s scope will be any more limited, but rather that Eljamel is the common factor linking all the issues, and it is his name that this scandal has frequently been attributed to in the media. Neither the draft terms of reference nor the inquiry name is set in stone however, and I welcome the openness and willingness of the board to engage with patients and amend based on their feedback.
It is important to note that public inquiries are not common events and in my seventeen years in Parliament I have never previously been involved in any. Governments are naturally hesitant to sanction them because they mean facing hard truths, asking difficult questions and holding those responsible for failings to account. All the while, shocking revelations are exposed to the watchful eye of the media and public. Likewise, they will almost certainly result in recommendations – sometimes costly - that forces change on the established order.
I am adamant in the case of the Eljamel inquiry that positive outcomes will be achieved; that proper safeguards will be introduced, ensuring a rogue surgeon can never again operate unchecked and that the wellbeing of patients always comes first.
Prior to the public meeting, I also held a pre-inquiry meeting, alongside Willie Rennie MSP, with many of the former patients, carers and family members. It was important to thank the efforts of all thus far, to answer any concerns that patients may have and stress that the political side of the campaign will be on their side all the way as we seek justice. It was a very emotional meeting at times with many patients sharing their harrowing accounts of Eljamel’s butchery and the lack of support they received from NHS Tayside in the aftermath.
After many delays, I am glad that the wheels are now in motion for the one-to-one clinical reviews which are essential for gaining evidence required for the public inquiry. For some, including Pat Kelly and Jules Rose, this has been a decade-long campaign to get to this point; where they can finally get answers to the many questions that have haunted them for so many years.
