Leading a debate in Parliament, Emma Hardy will call on the Government to end on the suffering of those affected by surgical mesh operations. The debate will take place at 0930 in Westminster Hall.
In the speech, Emma will welcome Labour’s pledge for a public inquiry and call on the government to follow suit. Emma will also call for the government to take the following actions to address this issue:
1. Commit to a full retrospective audit of all interventions using mesh to investigate how many people have had problems and to ensure that all complications and mesh removals are accurately recorded.
2. Commit to ensuring all mesh procedures are properly recorded with mandatory reporting of all complications.
3. Suspend prolapse and incontinence mesh while the audit is being carried out to ensure that no further damage is done.
4. Bring forward the NICE guidelines for mesh in stress related urinary incontinence from 2019 to 2018.
5. The government should produce written guidance to raise awareness of this condition with doctors and members of the public and help build an evidence base to track the use of surgical mesh in future.
Mesh surgery is a medical procedure used to treat incontinence and prolapse in women, often as a result of childbirth. An increasing number of women have reported suffering from complications after mesh surgery including debilitating pain, infection, inflammation, loss of sex life and mobility issues.
In conjunction with Sling the Mesh campaign group, the All Party Parliamentary Group has organised a meeting straight after the debate with mesh-injured women, clinicians and MPs to discuss mesh surgery and its risks.
Emma said: “I’m delighted to have secured a debate on this very important issue. I was first alerted to the issue of mesh complications after a constituent contacted me who had been suffering in silence for years. Since calling for this debate my email inbox has been filling up with emails from men and women across the country telling me their horrific stories after having mesh implanted.
“Mesh implants have left women in permanent pain, unable to walk, and unable to work. This is an ongoing public health scandal and the Government need to do much more to support those affected. The Government have failed to answer big questions about the extent of this public health scandal, including how many women have been affected and why a product with such terrible risks was allowed into the market in the first place.
“I hope that the government will take action and heed Labour’s call for a public inquiry into the use of mesh.”
