Humza Yousaf commits to public inquiry into disgraced surgeon Professor Sam Eljamel

A public inquiry will be held into the disgraced brain surgeon Sam Eljamel, the Scottish government has confirmed.

Eljamel harmed dozens of patients at NHS Tayside, leaving some with life-changing injuries.

He was head of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee until December 2013, when he was suspended.

Health Secretary Michael Matheson said he was persuaded of the need for the inquiry after reading a damning due diligence review into NHS Tayside.

It follows a long-running campaign which saw almost 150 former patients of the surgeon calling for the inquiry.

At First Minister's Questions, Humza Yousaf said the decision was taken after "very careful consideration" of the "extremely disturbing" findings of a due diligence review into NHS Tayside.

It found that concerns about Eljamel were not acted upon with the urgency they deserved.

Mr Matheson told MSPs he had been unconvinced of the need for a public inquiry until he read that report.

He said it had revealed significant information that had not previously been known by the Scottish government, despite eight reviews since 2018.

"That raised serious concerns for me on the openness and the transparency there has been to date from NHS Tayside," he added.

Mr Matheson said he had concluded that a public inquiry was "the only route to get to the bottom of who knew what and when, and what contributed to the failures described by NHS Tayside".

The health secretary said he also wanted to see individual cases reviewed independently of NHS Tayside in a "person-centred, trauma-informed" manner.