Surgeon is struck off as skills unsafe

A SURGEON who treated some patients in Wales has been struck off after a disastrous performance in a skills retest.

- CONOR GOGARTY

Dr Elroy Weledji blamed his assessment failure on "football fans making noise" outside.

Dr Weledji, originally from Cameroon, qualified as a doctor in 1992 from University College Dublin and went on to practise in Monmouthshire and other parts of the UK.

His roles included training in surgery and working as a specialist registrar. His problems began when he was working in Scotland and a colleague made a complaint about his performance.

An assessment by the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2001 concluded there were "widespread deficiencies" in his skills, including his ability to "work within laws" and his "respect for patients".

In the following years, he failed to "take steps to improve his performance", according to a 2004 medical tribunal, which suspended his registration indefinitely. Five years later, he applied for the suspension to be revoked, but again a tribunal found no evidence of improvement.