Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 24 October 2023
24 Oct 2023 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Transvaginal Mesh
Two wee seconds.
The contrast was stark. I welcome that change, but it does not take away the mental challenges that those women have had to endure for many years.
I would normally take Mr Carlaw’s intervention, but I am running out of time.
We should not lose sight of the fact that the work that has been done is welcome, but there is still a challenge for the NHS. More work is very much required, but I welcome the minister’s comments on the 21 recommendations. We cannot change the past, but we have an opportunity to right some wrongs and implement changes that will have a lasting, positive impact. The Scottish Parliament has consistently been told that its members should listen to clinicians, as they are the experts. That is the case for professionals in many disciplines and for many health debates, as we have heard over the years. I am glad that the women who suffer from transvaginal mesh issues did not listen to the clinicians but fought the system. I thank them for all their work on the issue, which they have consistently pushed to the fore. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
16:54In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-10915, in the name of Jenni Minto, on transvaginal mesh. I invite members who wish to participate in the ...
The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health (Jenni Minto)
SNP
The motion to which I speak is on the impact of transvaginal mesh on women’s health, which the Parliament has rightly debated on a number of occasions in thi...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
I am grateful to the minister for giving way. She highlights the important issues that the review has identified, but it is important to understand that this...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I believe that the rest of my speech will answer a lot of Daniel Johnson’s questions. The Glasgow mesh service is listening to women and amending the way tha...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con)
Con
I am listening with interest, and I will obviously have an opportunity to say more in my contribution. Does the minister not accept that, for most women at t...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I thank Jackson Carlaw for his intervention, and I recognise the fantastic work that he has done in supporting women in this situation. Women have the optio...
Tess White (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
At the outset, I want to recognise the hundreds of mesh-injured women who have fought so hard for so long for their voices to be heard. They have lived with ...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
Does the member agree that alignment will happen only once every person who has survived mesh knows what treatment they will get and is satisfied with the ou...
Tess White
Con
I strongly support and echo that. Women need to build back trust. The minister talked about building trust, but the fact that not a single one of Professor B...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
Mesh campaigners have had to fight for many years for action on their concerns and the reality is that, despite the parallel universe set out by the minister...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
In the seven years for which I have been an MSP, I have spoken on the subject of transvaginal mesh several times, as have many of the speakers in this aftern...
Jackson Carlaw
Con
I mean no disrespect to the minister, but Mr Cole-Hamilton mentioned the many debates on the subject in which he has participated, and I note that, in nearly...
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
That observation is correct. This debate, like those that preceded it, will be watched far beyond the chamber by the many victims of mesh, who will share Jac...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
I give a reminder, as we move into the open debate, that we are very tight for time, so we will stick to the allotted speaking times. 16:23
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
This debate on what is a tragic and complicated issue is one of many in which I have taken part, as has Alex Cole-Hamilton, since I was elected in 2016. I w...
Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a practising NHS GP. In the past two decades, some 20,000 women in Scotland underwe...
Evelyn Tweed (Stirling) (SNP)
SNP
As we have heard, complications relating to the use of vaginal mesh have caused widespread and severe symptoms in thousands of women. Those patients have bee...
Katy Clark (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I start by paying tribute to the tireless campaigning of mesh-injured women. It is their campaigning that has been the driving force for much of the progress...
The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone)
NPA
Ms Clark, I ask you to conclude.
Katy Clark
Lab
I very much look forward to hearing the minister’s response to my points. 16:48
Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
SNP
I am speaking in the debate because, as I have previously mentioned in the chamber, I have met several of my constituents who have suffered with the horrors ...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
Stuart McMillan is right to say that this is not about hindsight. However, the reality is that acknowledging recommendations is not enough. Too many women ar...
Stuart McMillan
SNP
I do not disagree at all. I have spoken in similar debates in the past. My comments in those are on the record, so if the member wishes to go and have a look...
Stuart McMillan
SNP
Two wee seconds. The contrast was stark. I welcome that change, but it does not take away the mental challenges that those women have had to endure for many...
Gillian Mackay (Central Scotland) (Green)
Green
Like many others, I pay tribute to the incredible efforts of the mesh survivors in bringing this issue to light in order to secure justice. Their bravery and...
Clare Haughey (Rutherglen) (SNP)
SNP
Like many, if not all, members, I have heard from constituents over the years whose lives were devastated as a result of mesh implants. As we know, mesh was ...
Sue Webber (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I have raised questions about vaginal mesh in the chamber before and have written articles in support of the women affected, and I welcome the chance to spea...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
When we have discussed transvaginal mesh in previous debates, I have started by paying tribute to fellow MSPs who have campaigned on the issue. However, I do...
David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate. As always, I extend my gratitude to the campaigners, medical professionals, researchers and cons...
Jackie Baillie
Lab
I am grateful to the member for taking an intervention. We have debated the Cumberlege report before, which proposed a redress scheme. Can the member shed an...