Eljamel patients in Holyrood rally to call on First Minister to remove time-bar

Former patients of Sam Eljamel gathered outside the Scottish Parliament to call on the First Minister to remove a three-year time-bar on compensation claims.

The Eljamel Inquiry is taking place after patients of the former neurosurgeon, originally from Libya, raised concerns he had harmed as many as 200 people, with some said to have suffered life-changing injuries.

The former patients want John Swinney to remove the three-year legal time-bar they have said is preventing them from pursuing compensation claims against NHS Tayside.

Lead campaigner and patient representative Jules Rose said the First Minister has written to her and said he has only previously removed a time-bar because of “exceptional circumstances”.

Speaking outside Holyrood, she said: “NHS Tayside covered up his crimes, destroyed evidence, and wasted millions of pounds of public money fighting victims. Those responsible? They still enjoy large pensions and face no consequences.

“Over 90% of victims have received no compensation at all. The legal time-bar slams the door shut on almost every claim.

“Ministers promised fairness, they did not deliver it. The First Minister and the Health Secretary say they have been ‘crystal clear’ that NHS Tayside should not apply the time-bar on a blanket basis. But that statement ignores the reality victims face.”

She said Mr Swinney assured her NHS Tayside will not apply the time-bar on a blanket basis and will instead consider claims individually.

The patients claim solicitors are unwilling to take on cases without upfront payment unless there is a firm, binding guarantee that the time-bar will not be invoked.

Ms Rose continued: “Patients cannot even clear the first hurdle. No legal firm will represent a patient while the time-bar remains in place.

“Some firms have previously asked patients to find thousands of pounds just to review their case because of the time-bar. Victims do not have that money.

“Then comes the final insult. The First Minister wrote to me stating: ‘Parliament has only removed time-bars in exceptional circumstances.’

“Exceptional circumstances? Police Scotland say this is the biggest medical scandal Scotland has ever seen. The Lord Advocate says it is the most unique investigation Scotland has ever undertaken.

“Yet the First Minister appears to believe that a rogue surgeon harming over 220 patients, leaving people blind, paralysed, in constant pain, and dependent on heavy medication every single day, does not meet the test of ‘exceptional’.

“Fourteen patients here today have the combined total of 263 years of chronic pain, 24/7. Day in and Day out. We are exceptional. Today’s visuals show the truth: victims face hurdle after hurdle after hurdle. They have suffered enough.

“Scotland must choose: protect the powerful, or finally deliver justice to the powerless. Because this is not justice, this is institutional cruelty, this is a betrayal.

“The First Minister has agreed to meet us, we are still waiting on that date. We again call on the Scottish Government to formally instruct NHS Tayside to remove the time-bar, allowing victims to choose whether to pursue redress, with each case assessed on its own merits.

“Or will this continue to be a case of they dither, we die?”

The patients have listed demands for the Scottish Government which include issuing full written instructions to NHS Tayside requiring a complete waiver of the time-bar for all Eljamel-related NHS claims, supported by a formal written agreement from the health board.

They have also called for stronger Government direction to NHS Tayside to ensure fair, timely, and meaningful redress for victims, and ensure full accountability for evidence destruction, institutional failures, and the obstruction of justice.

A health board spokesperson said: “NHS Tayside does not apply a blanket approach to the three-year time-bar in any legal claim. Each claim received is considered on a case-by-case basis.

“The decision to consider and apply time-bar on a case-by-case basis has been consistently applied in NHS Tayside over the duration of the time when Eljamel worked in NHS Tayside to the present day.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.