Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 08 September 2020
I accept that there were issues around that. However, my point is that three MSPs from different political parties getting together to play a role in getting things to where we are now is a fine example of political differences being put to one side for the greater good in pursuance of such an important cause.
I also note that, although the report is overarching and clearly exposes significant system-wide failures, it is true to say that many clinicians do an excellent job, are respectful of their patients and want the best outcomes for them.
I turn now to the substance of the report, which was commissioned by the former UK Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt. Its recommendations are primarily focused on England. Baroness Cumberlege has called on Scotland to lead the way in implementing her report’s recommendations, where appropriate. That is why Scottish Conservatives welcome the commitment that was made in the programme for government, and which has been repeated today, to establish a patient safety commissioner as is recommended in the report. We will closely monitor implementation in order to ensure that whomever is appointed to the role has the clear support of patients and campaigners.
As has already been mentioned in the debate, one of the recurring themes of the mesh scandal is the lack of confidence in the system among women who have been affected. Neil Findlay spoke of that. I am afraid to say that there has been a history of kicking the can down the road and hoping that the problem would go away. When it comes to the mesh issue, trust in the Scottish Government and those who are responsible in the health service needs to be revitalised. That is an urgent imperative. This should not be the moment when the issue is yet again kicked into the long grass. If I know anything about the women who have campaigned so hard, it is that they will not let that happen—and we will not let it happen.
Although we note and welcome the recent announcement by the Scottish Government that it will provide additional support for patients, including the £1 million fund to support women with transvaginal mesh complications, and its announcement of the establishment of the national mesh removal service, we will carefully scrutinise the efficacy of both of those measures, taking into account the experiences and views of the women who have suffered from mesh implants.
However, that should not be the end of the road. For instance, we remain concerned by the inability of the Scottish Government to secure the vital services of the mesh removal specialist surgeon, Dr Veronikis. It is the clear wish and desire of patients’ groups, including Scottish Mesh Survivors, that the expertise of Dr Veronikis be secured.
Indeed, the inability to secure his services was described bluntly in Scottish Mesh Survivors’ most recent submission to the Public Petitions Committee, in which it said:
“Losing out on this opportunity was not only shameful, it left Scotland’s mesh injured women devastated, terrified, and unwilling to use the service of the very surgeons who had not only implanted them with the mesh which destroyed their lives, but had also campaigned to continue using the implants long after evidence showed devastating lifelong injuries were being inflicted on upwards of 30 per cent of patients”.