Can those whose lives have been ruined by the disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel trust anything the Scottish Government and NHS Tayside say?
It appears there are some highly paid people earning a very comfortable living whose right hands don’t know what their left hands are doing.
That’s the charitable explanation In light of The Courier’s latest revelations about under-fire national clinical director Jason Leitch and his connection to the Eljamel investigations.
And stuck in the middle of this outrageous scandal are hundreds of sufferers whose lives have been destroyed.
They are living in agonising pain and discomfort, desperately seeking answers from an uncaring establishment, who appear keener on obstructing justice and fairness than in getting to the bottom of an outrageous and grave injustice.
The new SNP health chief Neil Gray has admitted Leitch is being briefed on work to set up the upcoming review into all Eljamel patients.
That’s despite being employed by the health board and his links to Gerry Marr, the former NHS Tayside chief executive who presided over the rogue doctor’s final years at the health board, including the shambolic supervision period.
Only a few weeks ago the Scottish Government claimed Leitch – under pressure over his involvement in the Covid Inquiry WhatsApp controversy – had no role at all in the upcoming review into the matter.
A public inquiry alongside individual clinical reviews will investigate the failure of the health board to take measures more promptly.
It will study the timeline of events before Eljamel’s ultimate suspension.
If Leitch has had even a miniscule part to play in any of this grim and tawdry affair there’s a blindingly obvious conflict of interest.
That should be apparent to anyone with a shred of decency and humility but the powers that be and Leitch himself seem unable to see it.
In some areas of Scottish public life it appears that we have bred a new professional caste of high priests who are above reproach or critique, according to their vastly inflated sense of their own worth.
Any requests for openness and transparency are stonewalled by those in positions of power, affronted at the arrogance of the hoi polloi’s demands for accountability.
Jules Rose, one of the hundreds of patients who suffered life changing harm at the hands of the rogue Dundee doctor Elijamel, was absolutely right to tell The Courier: “This is a complete and utter farce.”
Clarity and transparency should be at the heart of all public service but this situation has exemplified the arrogance and shamelessness which has pervaded some elements of public life in Scotland.
There’s a feeling it’s all just too cosy.
Leitch’s reputation is taking a hammering and if he had any sense of propriety he’d stand down without further prompting.
But there’s a high-handed conceit and egotism at play which rejects any and all criticism of his role in this matter.
The dentist – who appeared to love the sound of his own voice on radio and the sight of himself on TV during the Covid pandemic as he instructed the nation in lofty tones – has been revealed as aloof and arrogant.
It should be obvious to anyone that someone employed by a health board should be nowhere near any inquiry or investigation into that body.
It reflects appallingly on the idea of accountability and trust in our culture.
And if those in charge can’t see that then their moral compass is seriously wonky.
JIM SPENCE: Jason Leitch will step aside from Eljamel and NHS Tayside probe if he has any sense of propriety
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21.02.2024
Can those whose lives have been ruined by the disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel trust anything the Scottish Government and NHS Tayside say?
It appears there are some highly paid people earning a very comfortable living whose right hands don’t know what their left hands are doing.
That’s the charitable explanation In light of The Courier’s latest revelations about under-fire national clinical director Jason Leitch and his connection to the Eljamel investigations.
And stuck in the middle of this outrageous scandal are hundreds of sufferers whose lives have been destroyed.
They are living in agonising pain and discomfort, desperately seeking answers from an uncaring establishment, who appear keener on obstructing justice and fairness than in getting to the bottom of an outrageous and grave injustice.
The new SNP health chief Neil Gray has admitted Leitch is........
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