Meeting of the Parliament 24 October 2023
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 afternoon’s debate. I am gratified to be speaking in a debate on the subject in Government time, because for far too long we had to debate it in Opposition time and members’ business debates. It is good that the SNP Government is now taking it with the seriousness that it requires.
It is fair to say that the issue is one around which members have coalesced: there is agreement on it, and that is right. We have come together to support those women who have been harmed through no fault of their own. In speeches like this one, I have often shared the story of my constituent Cathy, whose account echoes those of hundreds of women—many of whom we have heard about today—who were referred by GPs or physiotherapists to receive mesh implants. Cathy was given very little information other than being told that the procedure would alleviate the mild incontinence that she had. What followed was five years of crippling pain and gaslighting, which we have heard many others describe, and her mobility, her mental health and her intimacy with her partner all suffered as a result. Her quality of life was absolutely devastated.
It was an important moment for this Parliament when, in January 2022, we passed the legislation to reimburse victims of transvaginal mesh for the surgery that they would have to undergo to have it removed privately. However, as Jackson Carlaw rightly pointed out in his intervention on the minister, care pathways are still uncertain for victims and, more often than not, they lead them to the very surgeons who harmed them in the first place, in whom they have no confidence at all.
I echo the points that Jackie Baillie made about the contract under which Dr Veronikis is removing mesh in America. That desperately needs to be reviewed. We also need to make sure that the women have wraparound, holistic care.
I, too, pay tribute to the many people who have campaigned to get us to this point. I have already namechecked Jackson Carlaw, but he, Alex Neil and Neil Findlay all deserve recognition for their tireless efforts to get us here.