Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 24 November 2021
I point members to my declaration of interests; I am a practising doctor.
It is not every day that parties on opposite sides of the chamber see eye to eye, and it is even rarer for us to find common ground twice in one week. Today, there is every reason why Parliament must stand united, in order to fully support Scotland’s brave women who have suffered so greatly following complications from transvaginal mesh surgery. The very least that we can do, together, is ensure that any women who received that treatment in Scotland will be compensated for the money that they have paid out for mesh removal surgery, even if they were treated overseas.
Mesh, which is usually made from synthetic polypropylene, was supposed to reinforce damaged tissue in treatment of pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, which is usual after childbirth. The procedure has been used across Europe, in the US and further afield since the 1990s, but the failure rate that is associated with its use is a gynaecological scandal. Complications from mesh include nerve damage, chronic pain and vaginal scarring resulting from erosion by the product inside the body. There have been cases of organ perforation when mesh has been exposed inside the vagina, and some women have died.
As complaints from patients and families turned into lawsuits, authorities around the world began to act; by late 2017, Australia and New Zealand were the first to ban use of transvaginal mesh. Since 2018, no vaginal mesh implants have been carried out in Scotland. However, over a 20-year period, in Scotland alone more than 20,000 women underwent mesh surgery. It is believed that thousands have, to varying degrees, suffered from the effects. Some 600 women resorted to legal action.
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has heard from women in person; I record my thanks to those brave women who have harrowing experiences of mesh surgery. Many faced scepticism or were simply not believed when they were crying out for help. On matters including debilitating pain, infections, reduced mobility, autoimmune issues, difficulties with intimacy and psychological strain, they were simply not believed.
It is no surprise, therefore, that so many women sadly lost trust in our NHS and are out protesting in Glasgow right now. Even when they were offered mesh removal surgery, many turned their backs on our NHS and went elsewhere—understandably so. In practice, that meant using private healthcare providers in the UK and abroad. That is because until this year, there was no referral route from our NHS system to independent healthcare providers. My only plea to the cabinet secretary is that we speed through the next stage, which is to get women who have not had surgery quickly through assessment and removal surgery, rather than their having a long wait.
Until very recently, women have had to arrange everything themselves. Some have had to use up family savings, to borrow money or to crowdsource funds—anything to stop the agony. Since the summer, however, we have at last been making headway. In July, the Scottish Government agreed to meet the costs of private treatment to remove transvaginal mesh. Costs will cover the procedure and travel expenses, up to an amount that is somewhere between £16,000 and £23,000. The Scottish Government is now in the process of procuring the services of private providers to remove mesh from women who want it removed. They will have the choice to have surgery outwith the NHS in Scotland, which will be funded by their home health board, although I hope that women take the opportunity to have the surgery in Glasgow.
We on the Conservative side of the chamber strongly support the bill; I think that members in all parts of the chamber are in agreement. However, legislation can have unintended consequences, which is why we spend so much time, in the chamber and in committee, on the details.
I want to highlight a few points, for clarification. As it stands, the bill covers only women who currently reside in Scotland, and not women who now live in another country. That said, I am reassured by the fact that the cabinet secretary has just said that he agrees that that is too narrow a requirement and that he will consider lodging an appropriate amendment at stage 2.
As this is a compensation bill, we need to ensure that fair and proper claims are reimbursed. We need to avoid unintentional rendering as ineligible of claims for reimbursement.