The Eljamel Inquiry - information for former patients and their families

The Eljamel Inquiry is a Scottish public inquiry set up under the Inquiries Act 2005. It relates to the professional practice of Mr Eljamel and will investigate:

• The appointment of Mr Eljamel to various professional positions he held between 1995 and 2014, his clinical supervision and suspension in 2013 and his resignation on 31 May 2014;
• When concerns about Mr Eljamel were raised and how those concerns were responded to by NHS Tayside and those working for it;
• Whether important information about Mr Eljamel’s professional practice was concealed by him and/or NHS Tayside; and
• Whether the actions taken by NHS Tayside and other relevant organisations and the systems that they had in place were adequate to protect patients.

The independent clinical review (ICR) will give former patients, or a relative or representative authorised to participate on their behalf, the opportunity to have a personalised review of the care and treatment they received.

Both of these investigations are independent of NHS Tayside and have their own dedicated, independent websites which you can visit at the links below.

An independent, external review of the destruction of theatre logbooks associated with the neurosurgical theatre at Ninewells Hospital, where Mr Eljamel operated has been published by NHS Tayside.

You can read the independent review report and NHS Tayside's action plan at the links below.

Independent Review Destruction of Theatre Logbooks - Report
Independent Review Destruction of Theatre Logbooks - Action Plan

The review has identified failings in the systems, processes and governance arrangements that were in place at the time of the loss in July 2025, concluding that the loss of these records should not have happened. NHS Tayside has accepted the findings in full and has also published its Action Plan to address the 15 recommendations in the report.

Although, the review found no evidence of malicious intent or deliberate destruction of records, the Board of NHS Tayside acknowledges that this does not diminish the impact of the incident. We wish patients and families to know that it recognises the effect that this incident has had on individuals and apologises sincerely for the loss of information in the logbooks.

Since the circumstances surrounding the loss of the logbooks came to light, substantial work has been undertaken to strengthen arrangements.

Read NHS Tayside's full statement in response to the independent review findings here.

NHS Tayside
17 August 2026

The Patient Liaison Response Team (PLRT) is a dedicated point of contact within NHS Tayside for former patients of Mr Eljamel and their families.

You can contact the team if you are looking for information or an update from NHS Tayside.

Telephone: 01382 496229
Email: tay.patientliaisonresponse@nhs.scot

In view of the fact that former patients of Mr Eljamel have learned about issues regarding his practice at different times, and from different sources, and given that there is an ongoing casenote review, NHS Tayside reset the time bar clock to 27 February 2026. This is in respect of treatment which may have involved negligence by Mr Eljamel, or those he supervised.

This means that NHS Tayside will not apply time bar in respect of any claim by patients of Mr Eljamel during the period of three years from 27 February 2026.

As a result, the barriers as described by the patients to us, which were stopping them pursuing a claim with legal representatives, have been removed. Patients can now take immediate steps to start their discussions with legal advisors.

We do not wish to exclude anyone from seeking legal advice and representation to have their individual case reviewed. Anyone who has previously made a claim which subsequently failed solely due to time bar can contact the Board directly or the CLO to discuss matters so far as they relate to the specific circumstances of their case.