Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 24 November 2021
I absolutely do. In the previous session, I sat in a meeting of the Public Petitions Committee—along with David Torrance, I think—and listened to one specialist saying that only a couple of women were involved, with 60 women sitting behind him while he said it. There really has been a fundamental disconnect.
Mention has been made of Elaine Holmes, who lodged the petition in the first instance. She said:
“I’d been discharged from NHS GG&C after two mesh removal attempts, told I was mesh free and that I’d likely lose my leg if I had any more surgery relating to the transobturator mesh implant. I’d had every test/scan possible and had exhausted all options. After much research and pleading from my family, I contacted Dr V as he was my last hope. Thank God I did! He removed 22cm of the offending mesh.”
That was after she had been told that all her mesh had been removed, and that is why so many of the women have confidence in Dr Veronikis.
Dr Veronikis contacted me ahead of the debate. I do not want to introduce any note of difficulty, but here is what he says in the conclusion of a letter that he sent today to the interim medical director of NHS Scotland procurement commissioning and facilities:
“Respectfully, I see no progress, I only see delays and detours. As stated in my email on October 28, I do not believe that we have made any progress since March 2019, when Terry O’Kelly first contacted me, or since First Minister Nicola Sturgeon personally called me. The solution is either expedite and facilitate the care of the suffering women who wish my services or just tell them that NHS Scotland cannot help them receive care outside of Scotland.”
He goes on to say that he is desperate because of what appears to be a slightly dead hand of bureaucracy that is encountered when trying to drill down to the details. He says that we need to overcome that, and it probably needs the cabinet secretary to take a personal interest in what is being done, possibly in his name, to ensure that we get to the point at which Dr Dionysios Veronikis believes that he has a contract that is fair and operable and that allows these women to go to Missouri to have the treatment concerned.