Sioned Williams MS writes about one of the biggest women’s health scandals of recent times
This article was published in the Western Mail on Monday 30 December 2024.
Mesh Scandal Requires Action
“I was told I was having a gold standard procedure that would change my life. It did. After approximately 13 operations and procedures, I am now waiting to have my large bowel removed and I've been left with pain and disabilities.”
These are the words of a constituent of mine who has suffered terribly as the result of being fitted with a vaginal mesh. Sometimes referred to a pelvic mesh, they were used to treat conditions like stress incontinence, or to repair pelvic organ prolapse.
However, as a patient safety review found out in 2020, there was too little monitoring of what happened after the mesh was fitted, which led to doctors and patients not understanding the risks of such a treatment, and in many cases, led to women not being believed when they reported problems afterwards.
Compensation was recommended for those harmed, and in a further report in February 2024, the Patient Safety Commissioner for England, Dr Hughes, set out options for providing redress for pelvic mesh patients in England.
In Wales however, women are still waiting to hear what action will be taken.
In November 2024, knowing that the Welsh Government was soon to publish its long overdue Women's Health Plan and knowing they hadn’t yet made an official statement in response to the Hughes report, I raised this directly with the First Minister. While she said she was “sure” that mesh patients would be referenced in the plan, she later wrote to me to confirm that there would be no direct mention of them.
So when the Women’s Health Plan was published in December 2024, I asked the Minister in charge, Sarah Murphy, if specialist centres would be available for mesh patients in Wales as in England, and whether she’d been in dialogue with the new Westminster Government on ensuring an UK-wide response to the Hughes report. She confirmed the Hughes Report's recommendations are still being considered.
But it’s not good enough that nearly a year has passed with no action.
This is a health scandal deemed by experts as significant as Thalidomide. As it specifically affects women, I would have expected that the Welsh Government's new focus on women’s health would result in more urgency.
The women who have suffered, like my constituent, deserve to know what support and redress will be available to them in Wales and I will keep pressing for action.