Hansard

It is very welcome that women’s health is receiving some of the spotlight that it deserves in the chamber today. I am delighted to be opening for Scottish Labour.

I want to focus on the way in which women continue to be treated as second-class citizens in Scotland, whether by neglect or design. There is only so long that the Government can keep coming up with motions celebrating plans as yet unannounced. People want action—that is what Scottish Labour continues to focus on, and that is what I will focus on in the debate.

Scottish Labour pushed for action on women and women’s health throughout the previous parliamentary session. An example was the action of my colleague Monica Lennon, who did so much to improve the provision of free period products with world-leading legislation. That was action, but I am sure that Monica would agree that there is still a great deal more to do. We can do that only by working together and using the powers of the Parliament.

I worked for many years in the NHS and saw at first hand the ways in which women’s medical concerns are so often dismissed as minor considerations or cast off as by-products of personal responsibility. It is vital that people in our position speak up for those who are unable to do so.

I know from my constituents that the stigma surrounding menopause, access to specialist mental health support and waiting times for breast cancer screening appointments are just a few of the ways in which women in Scotland feel that their needs are not taken into consideration. Menopause symptoms in particular remain heavily stigmatised, and many women are reluctant to ask for help or share their experiences. Specialist services must have greater equality in access to allow women to be confident in coming forward to access treatment.

There is perhaps no greater example in contemporary Scotland of such neglect than the treatment of the survivors of the transvaginal mesh scandal. During the previous parliamentary session, my Labour colleague Neil Findlay, along with MSPs from other parties, did much to raise awareness of the issue. They had some success, although there are still questions left unanswered.

The work of the Scottish Mesh Survivors campaign has repeatedly revealed the extent to which those women trusted the NHS to treat them. They were led to believe that the mesh was safe, only to be left with life-changing injuries. Many of those women were left unable to work or live a normal life and they suffered all the dreadful social and financial impacts that followed.

Scottish Labour is pursuing that and many other issues, because we see the advancement of women’s health as a core concern of a modern country that is focused on justice. We believe that by supporting women to live healthy lives, we build the blocks of a national health service.

For all the posturing, I am not sure that the same can be said of the Scottish National Party. Its recent record is not even close to acceptable. In 2020, more than 43,000 breast cancer screening appointments were cancelled, and at least 180,000 cervical screening tests were delayed. Less than three fifths of women from the most deprived areas of Scotland attend breast cancer screening appointments, compared with nearly four fifths of women in the most affluent communities. Scotland has only two mother-and-baby mental health units, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland has said that mental health treatment for new mothers is akin to a postcode lottery. I urge members to remember that, on average, women with endometriosis wait eight years to receive a test.

Scottish Labour wants to start turning back the tide. As members can see from our amendment today, a first— and absolutely necessary—step is to recognise that we have an opportunity to right the wrong suffered by Scotland’s mesh survivors, and give a guarantee that they will be able to access the compensation that they deserve. If we can help that group of women, we can give hope to those who believe that their own concerns have been forgotten that things can change for the better.

For once, let us use the Parliament’s powers to redress the balance for a group of people who have no institutional power, only their own solidarity, compassion and desire for justice. I know that the SNP claims to support that idea in principle but, so far, it has come up with more excuses than solutions. It is long past time that we got it done and delivered the vital funding to those women, so that they can get back to some sense of normality and do not feel left behind by an establishment that seems so distant from their lives.

For years, the mesh survivors have campaigned relentlessly for justice. There is probably not an MSP in the building who has not been contacted by them or listened to their story. Ensuring that they do not have to pay for essential surgery from their own pockets is the least that can be done to correct the historical injustice that they have experienced, and we in the Parliament can help.

I implore the Scottish Government to join Scottish Labour today and start a new chapter in our country’s history by championing the right of women to receive fair and effective healthcare. It should not be too much to ask. I ask all members to support Labour’s amendment.

I move amendment S6M-00369.4, to insert at end:

“; acknowledges that, historically, the health concerns of women have been too easily ignored or dismissed; deeply regrets the life-changing damage to women as the result of transvaginal mesh surgery; commends the Scottish Mesh Survivors group, which has determinedly fought to raise awareness of the dangers of mesh and prevent further women being injured by its use, and supports the asks of its Charter for Mesh Care, which is calling for funding to be immediately made available to cover the costs of mesh removal for women having to undergo private surgery.”