The government’s failure to respond to calls for a compensation scheme for women affected by pelvic mesh has been described as “morally unacceptable” by campaigners.
Thousands of women are left with life-changing complications after receiving transvaginal mesh implants, some never being able to walk or work again.
Saturday marks two years since Dr Henrietta Hughes, England’s Patient Safety Commissioner, drew up plans for financial compensation for women affected by pelvic mesh implants.
However, the ministers did not give any assurances to provide compensation to the women affected by the medical scam. Plans, outlined in 2024 Hughes Reportincluded compensation for children left disabled as a result Mothers using the anticonvulsant sodium valproate during pregnancy.
The government recently admitted that there is no timetable yet for compensating victims of pelvic mesh and valproate. Hughes promised to take the matter directly to the attention of the Prime Minister.
Campaigners claim that the lack of government action is causing the mental health of people affected by the scandals to deteriorate.
Kath Sansomfounder of the advocacy group Sling the Mesh, said: “Every week, month, year, women are getting more depressed, more upset. You can’t stop their suffering. Many of them have had to give up work or cut back on their hours. They are struggling to make ends meet. We have some members who are elderly, parents who have had to sell their homes…
“We see those women trying to post ‘I don’t want to be here anymore’ at three in the morning … I am very angry that these women’s lives have been destroyed and no one has taken accountability by compensating them … This is morally unacceptable.”
For years pelvic mesh has been considered the gold standard for women with stress incontinence and prolapse, conditions that occur after childbirth or as women approach menopause. “None of us were warned about the risks. We were all told it was the gold standard surgery,” Sansom said.
Surgery to remove the mesh can cause serious complications, including organ trauma, massive bleeding, severe infection and leg and lung abscesses, with surgeons comparing the procedure to removing chewing gum from hair.
Hughes was commissioned directly in response to the report First the Do No Ham review Led by Julia Cumberlage, it outlined nine recommendations for justice for women affected by the pelvic mesh, the epilepsy drug sodium valproate and the hormone pregnancy test Primodos.
Labor MP Sharon Hodgson, whose mother suffered debilitating pain and constant infections after a pelvic mesh implant, described the government’s inaction as “disgraceful”.
“Two years after the Hughes report, there has been no government response, its publication humiliating for thousands of mesh and valproate-harmed women and children. This is more than just a response to a report; this is about restorative justice.”
Hodgson, who chairs the First Do No Harm all-party parliamentary group, added: “These women and families are all devastated. They’re all told, ‘There’s nothing wrong with you’. And women who have children who have been harmed by valproate, again, they [doctors] He went: ‘Oh, this drug is safe.’ So they had years of being gaslit.
“This remedy says loud and clear that it’s not all in your head, it’s not your fault. And what happened was wrong.”
Hughes said: “These are not abstract policy questions; they are about real people whose lives have been fundamentally changed by systemic failures in healthcare. Each month’s delay adds to the injustice these patients already experience.
“I will contact Number 10 directly to secure a commitment to action that has been missing for two years.”
A section health And a spokesperson for Social Care said: “We recognize the significant impact that sodium valproate and pelvic mesh have had on people and their families.
“This is a complex issue and our priority is to ensure that any response is fair, balanced and sensitive to those affected. We are carefully considering the recommendations in the Hughes report in collaboration with relevant departments and aim to provide an update in due course.”
