Eljamel Inquiry announces plans for Preliminary Hearing
The Inquiry, chaired by Lord Weir, will set out its progress and intentions
Lord Weir, Chair of the Eljamel Inquiry
Public event will be held in Edinburgh next month
The Eljamel Inquiry will hold its preliminary hearing next month.
The independent public inquiry, chaired by Lord Weir, will hold a preliminary hearing in Edinburgh on Wednesday 10th September.
The event will be an opportunity for the Inquiry to set out its progress and intentions.
Core participants, via their representatives, can also have their say on the work of the Inquiry.
To date, Lord Weir has designated the following applicants as core participants:
- 133 former patients of Mr Eljamel and 19 personal representatives of former patients. This group is represented by the legal firm Levy & McRae
- NHS Tayside
- Scottish Government
- University of Dundee
- Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh)
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
- NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
Members of the public, including former patients, can apply to attend the preliminary hearing in person.
Anyone wishing to request a free ticket should do so via the Eventbrite booking site.
Proceedings will also be broadcast live via the Inquiry’s YouTube channel and available to view later, on the Inquiry’s website.
The hearing will take place at Waverley Gate, in central Edinburgh.
The preliminary hearing will be the first public event held by the Eljamel Inquiry since it was formally set up in April.
Cabinet Secretary for Health, Neil Gray formally set up the Inquiry on 3rd April 2025, empowering the Inquiry to begin the process of gathering evidence.
The Inquiry has been tasked with investigating the activities and oversight of former NHS Tayside neurosurgeon, Sam Eljamel.
Mr Eljamel was appointed as a consultant neurosurgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in 1995.
Over the years, he rose to become head of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital.
In 2013, Mr Eljamel was placed under supervision and later suspended following concerns about the standard of clinical care he was providing to patients. In 2014, he resigned from NHS Tayside.
The Inquiry will determine, among other things, whether patients were let down by failures in clinical governance, risk management, and complaints procedures.
It will investigate the adequacy of previous reviews and investigations.
It will also examine to what extent Mr Eljamel’s private practice, research, and workload impacted on the care received by his patients, and whether – and to what extent – Mr Eljamel, and NHS Tayside, tried to conceal evidence of sub-standard care.
Full details of the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference are available on the Eljamel Inquiry website.
The Inquiry has also created a short video which explains the role of core participants in a public inquiry.