Hansard

I thank my fellow members of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, who are all here today, for their work on the bill over recent weeks.

I welcome this opportunity to open the debate for Scottish Labour, as our party has been at the forefront of this issue for years. I afford particular recognition to the efforts of the former Lothian MSP Neil Findlay to get justice for the women who have been affected by mesh. He and members of other parties across the chamber recognised early that they were dealing with an unspeakable injustice, and that we simply could not let it pass.

Before I begin my comments on the bill, I want to share my recognition of the women who have campaigned relentlessly to keep the issue on the agenda in Scotland. Their efforts have increased awareness of this serious problem not only here, but across the UK. Their campaigning has meant that, unlike many other people who never receive the compensation that they deserve, the women are close to justice. It is a brilliant story of courage and tenacity, and one of which Scotland should be proud. However, only by saying that we got it wrong in the first place and by rectifying mistakes can we truly embrace that pride. Certainly, we can do so only after those who are out of pocket have the record set straight.

Every member should take time to recognise the efforts of the women, and to reflect on the steps that have been taken to get us to this point—not least, so that we do not make the same mistakes again. We can never celebrate enough serious democratic engagement by the people who are at the sharp end in our society, so I encourage other groups who feel that they have been treated unjustly to come forward. This is their Parliament and it is our duty to help them.

As others have, I want to thank again the women who forced us to listen to them. I thank them for coming forward, I thank them for making us listen and I thank them for sharing their stories. I know that that must have been difficult.

The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is recommending that the general principles of the bill be supported; my party shares that recommendation. As a member of the committee, I have been impressed with the detail in, and the care that has been taken over, the bill. We can all agree that the general principles are moral and just.

A quick timeframe for getting the bill over the line is necessary, because the women who have been affected by mesh have suffered more than enough. I will be looking for guarantees on that, as we proceed. It is now our duty to make certain that the bill delivers on its promise of fairness.

Although the financial implications might seem to be relatively small, for those who will be helped the bill is worth an unimaginable amount. It represents recognition of their fight and of the fact that they were right all along.

During committee meetings, I was struck by the lengths to which many women have gone in order to get their mesh removed. We have heard some examples of that. For a good number of women, it involved travelling across the world. The committee heard stories of women travelling across the world who had to live in hotel rooms before their operation and after their surgery because they required to stay for treatment. We can all imagine how much, in those circumstances, we would have wished to be home with our loved ones while we were recovering. People did not commit to such steps lightly; as a result, we cannot approach the issue lightly.

That is not to say that there are not concerns that need to be addressed. There has been some recognition of that, but we need greater clarity and it being made plain who will qualify for mesh removal reimbursement and who will not. Throughout the process, I have been contacted by women who find the proposals either difficult to understand or imprecise. We can make adjustments to ensure that no one misses out. That point has been addressed by the convener and the cabinet secretary. A bit of peace of mind can go a long way, so I am glad that we addressed many such worries during the committee hearings, and that we are doing so again in the debate.

We are considering in the chamber some of the hidden complexities that many people who are observing the debate from afar might not have considered. There is a strong case for individuals who had their original mesh surgery done by NHS Scotland, but who were not ordinary residents in Scotland at the time of their removal surgery, being eligible for reimbursement. I hope that the cabinet secretary will reassure us on that, and that the bill will include such a provision.

The last thing that anyone wants is for us to end up with the women again feeling ignored or short changed by the system. I, and others, made that clear to the cabinet secretary in committee, and I have been assured that that will not be the case. However, the Government can equally be assured that any deviation from those expectations will not be accepted by Scottish Labour or the women involved.

The cabinet secretary has committed, quite rightly, to being flexible in determining what costs will be reimbursed under the terms of the bill, but the committee has argued that much greater detail is required—perhaps to be included at later stages—for cross-party support to be gained. However, we have been reassured by the cabinet secretary’s acceptance of the points that have been made by members, so I trust that that will be realised.

Scottish Labour will support the bill at stage 1. However, if the reasonable expectations of the women are not sufficiently met, we will, before the bill can be passed, lodge amendments to ensure that the principles that have been laid out today are delivered.

Again, I thank everyone who has been involved in the bill for their hard work. I look forward to its next stages and to passing serious and life-changing legislation of which we can all be proud.