Tag: public inquiry

Scottish Government announces Public Inquiry into ‘butcher’ surgeon

Actions of Sam Eljamel and NHS Tayside to be examined

Health Secretary Michael Matheson has announced a Public Inquiry will take place into the conduct of former neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel.

Mr Matheson said that in light of the last week’s Due Diligence Review, published by NHS Tayside, he has now concluded a Public Inquiry is needed to get the answers to the questions patients have about the surgeon, who worked in Tayside between 1995 and 2013.

Individual former patients who have ongoing concerns will also be able to request an independent clinical review of their care and treatment by Mr Eljamel.

Mr Matheson said: “Many former patients still live with the consequences of being treated by Mr Eljamel and still have many unanswered questions.

“The report presented last week to the board of NHS Tayside outlines a number of failings that I believe can only be examined thoroughly by a public inquiry. It also brings forward significant information not previously known to the Scottish Government. Given the length of time since the first concerns were raised about Mr Eljamel, this raises real concerns.

“It is now clear that the Board’s governance obligations were not consistently met in respect of how reviews of concerns about Mr Eljamel were actioned.

“I consider that this now means that commissioning a full public inquiry under the terms of the Inquiries Act 2005, with the powers to compel witnesses, is the only route to determine what happened, what contributed to the failures described by NHS Tayside and what can be done to prevent this happening again.

“A full public inquiry will not necessarily answer the individual clinical questions of each former patient about their own particular circumstances. For that reason I do still consider that an individual clinical review of patients’ individual cases, where that is what individual patients want, remains necessary.

“This will allow a person-centred, trauma-informed review of each patient’s own clinical case, addressing their individual needs and circumstances and attempting to offer answers in a bespoke and personalised way that an inquiry may not.”

Further details of the Public Inquiry and the process for arranging individual clinical care reviews will be announced in due course.

At Last: Two-way traffic to return to Leith Walk

Two-way traffic will return to Leith Walk this month, as preparations for tram testing begin.

North- and southbound traffic along the length of Leith Walk will be reintroduced during the week commencing 13 February, followed by the electrification of the full line.

Energisation of the line will allow for testing and commissioning to begin, with the first test trams expected on the route at the beginning of March. Final track preparations will also take place in the lead up to the first test tram running.

All tram track, overhead line poles and communications and power ducting has been installed, 93% of the overhead lines are in place and the final section at Picardy Place is being installed over the next two weeks. 

Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “In just a matter of weeks we’ll see test trams running the length of the Trams to Newhaven route, which is really exciting. Energising the overhead lines and buffering of the tram tracks are the final steps before this happens.

“Reopening Leith Walk to two-way traffic is a key moment for the project too and, I’m sure, for all those who live and work in the area. I’d like to thank residents and businesses for their patience and support while we’ve carried out these works.

Once fully complete, this project will be transformative for Leith Walk and the rest of the route, while benefitting the wider city economy and helping to cut congestion. Not only will it provide reliable, high-capacity connections to the north of the city but has significantly improved and enhanced public spaces and active travel links along the line.”

The Trams to Newhaven project remains on schedule for completion by spring 2023 and within the £207.3m budget, with all major construction now complete ahead of the testing and commissioning period.

This TtN budget does not take into account the massive cost overrun during the original tram project, the failures of which are subject to an ongoing public inquiry under Lord Hardie.

Due to industry wide challenges with the availability of materials and skilled labour, impacted by Brexit and the war in Ukraine along with significant demand for labour in the UK and overseas, there are small pockets of public realm works that will now be completed over the coming months. 

Full details of the updated programme are available on the Trams to Newhaven website.

A communications campaign has been carried out to remind residents, businesses and stakeholders about the electrification of overhead lines, including safety requirements and permits needed to carry out any work. This work was originally scheduled to take place in October but was re-programmed to allow key infrastructure works to be completed.

To allow for work to connect the lines to take place, Edinburgh Trams services from the airport will terminate at the West End between 13 and 19 February. 

Further information is available on Edinburgh Trams website.

Find out more about Trams to Newhaven, including landscape plans and timelines, online.

Covid in Scotland: Public inquiry details announced

The terms of reference and a chair for the public inquiry into the handling of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland have been announced. 

In a statement to Parliament yesterday, Deputy First Minister John Swinney confirmed that the Hon. Lady Poole QC, Senator of the College of Justice of Scotland, will chair the inquiry.  

Mr Swinney also published the terms of reference for the inquiry covering 12 areas of investigation, each covering a strategic element of the handling of the pandemic, to identify lessons to be learned and recommendations as soon as practicable. 

The terms of reference were informed by public engagement and are subject to a period of reflection by the chair, who will be able to suggest adjustments, which may include taking the remit of the UK-wide COVID-19 inquiry into account. 

The period covered by the inquiry will be from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, but it will also consider pandemic planning undertaken prior to this.

The chair will now begin the process of appointing staff so the inquiry can begin considering evidence without delay.

Mr Swinney said: “Today, I am announcing the establishment of a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act to examine the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.  

“I am grateful to everyone who has shared their views on what the inquiry should look into, in particular bereaved families and those who have lost friends and colleagues. Their input has been key in developing the inquiry’s terms of reference. 

“From my own and the First Minister’s interactions with Lady Poole, I am in no doubt that she has the necessary leadership skills, integrity and deep technical knowledge to undertake this inquiry. Her expertise in administrative and human rights law is exactly in line with our expectations of a human rights-based approach to the inquiry. 

“We are committed to working with the UK Government to develop the approach to the UK-wide inquiry and expect the chair of the Scottish public inquiry to coordinate with the chair of the UK-wide inquiry.” 

Lady Poole said: “I am honoured to chair this independent public inquiry examining the strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. We have all been affected by this pandemic.

“There has been a major impact on every aspect of all our lives. The death of so many as a result of COVID-19 is a tragedy, and others have suffered in many different ways. 

“The inquiry will work independently to establish the facts in an open and transparent way in order to determine what lessons can be learned for the future. There is a great deal to be done in a short space of time. I will continue to give considerable thought as to how best to conduct the inquiry to ensure it fully achieves its aims, including a careful and thorough examination of the terms of reference.

“My immediate focus will be on getting the right people in place to support me and establishing the necessary systems, processes and information flows needed to allow the inquiry to function efficiently and deliver as quickly as possible. Work has already begun on this.

“It is too early to be any more specific about how the inquiry will carry out its functions, other than to say that the arrangements for providing both written and oral evidence will be set out in due course once the initial establishment phase is completed. A bespoke website will be created, to provide information and publish updates as the inquiry progresses.

“I look forward to collaborating with my counterpart on the UK COVID-19 inquiry once that inquiry is established.”

PM must set timetable for Covid-19 public inquiry, says TUC

The TUC is calling for an immediate public inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The call came as workers around the world marked International Workers’ Memorial Day yesterday, in memory of those who have died, been injured, suffered work-related ill-health or been infected at work.

Official figures show more than 11,000 working age people have died of Covid-19 since the pandemic began.

The TUC says that alongside scrutinising the quality of decision-making across the pandemic response in government, the public inquiry must specifically look at infection control and workplace safety, including the failure to provide adequate financial support to self-isolate, PPE availability for health and care staff and other frontline workers throughout the crisis, the effectiveness of test and trace, and the failure to enforce the law on workplace safety.

It adds it should examine the unequal impact of Covid-19 on different groups of workers, specifically Black and Minority Ethnic workers and insecure occupations among whom Covid mortality rates are disproportionately higher.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Any public inquiry must look at why workers were put at risk – be it through inadequate PPE or being unable to afford to self-isolate.

“This isn’t about settling scores. It’s about getting answers and learning the lessons to save lives in future. On International Workers’ Memorial Day, we remember those who have died, and pledge ourselves to fight for safe workplaces for everyone.”

Jo Goodman, co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said: “An independent, judge-led statutory public inquiry is vital to making sure we learn lessons and save lives during the pandemic and for any future waves.”

The families of Unite members who lost loved ones to Covid-19 walked the memorial wall in London ton International Workers’ Memorial Day.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey and the families also joined with TUC representatives to observe the minute’s silence at midday on 28 April.

Unite said it is throwing its weight behind calls for a statutory public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic, recently rejected by ministers, and is backing the campaign for the National Covid Memorial Wall in Lambeth, south London, to be made permanent.

The memorial wall is made up of 150,000 individual painted hearts, one for every UK person who lost their life to the disease in the past year. The wall is around half a kilometre long and takes around 10 minutes to walk.

Len McCluskey joined Hannah Brady and Leshie Chandrapala, who both lost their fathers to the disease last year. Hannah’s father caught the virus while travelling to his work in a factory, while Leshie’s father was one of 27 London bus drivers who died of the disease between March and May last year.

Speaking ahead of his visit, Len McCluskey said: “Unite offers the bereaved families our full support in securing a permanent home for this incredible wall, and in the continued battle for the full and frank public inquiry the country needs.”