Inquiry must get to work quickly

PATIENTS butchered by failed surgeon Sam Eljamel have waited too long for answers. Now one victim, Pat Kelly, fears he will die before seeing justice done. Eljamel is now linked to more than 170 cases of botched or phantom operations. So it is right that the Scottish Government has moved to a full judge-led inquiry into the scandal. Lord Weir has been appointed to oversee the inquiry and it is vital he moves quickly to get the probe running. We must not wait years for answers, making a fortune for lawyers but bringing little comfort to victims. There can be no more unnecessary delays. Nobody should be considered beyond blame – from health chiefs who allowed Eljamel to keep working to politicians who ignored pleas to intervene. A succession of health secretaries refused to order an inquiry until Michael Matheson finally agreed to a public inquiry last year. In that time, people like Pat have continued to suffer and their conditions deteriorate. It would be unforgiveable if, following the inquiry, Lord Weir took a long time to publish his report. Patients deserve answers, truth and justice, and quickly. But they also deserve to see the man responsible for ripping their lives apart in the dock. Pat and the 171 other known victims deserve to see him face trial for what he has done. The extradition of Eljamel from Libya to Scotland will be a difficult process but the powers that be must not baulk at the magnitude of the task facing them. Those whose lives have been ruined by the neurosurgeon must get their day in court and every effort must be made to ensure it happens.