Transvaginal Mesh (Amendment 1)
S6M-10915.1: As an amendment to motion S6M-10915 in the name of Jenni Minto (Transvaginal Mesh), leave out from first “notes” to end and insert “recognises that waiting times for mesh-injured women accessing the specialist mesh surgical service are significant and that urgent action is required by the Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland to reduce long waits; notes with concern that affected women must be seen by a local urogynaecologist within their NHS board before being referred to specialist services and that a GP referral is not available; further notes that the referral pathway is lengthy and complex, especially relating to independent providers and post-operative care; urges the Scottish Government to implement the full recommendations of Professor Britton’s review to improve the support and outcomes available for women affected by surgical mesh, including the implementation of a new register for patients; requires the Scottish Government to report back to the Scottish Parliament on progress towards the implementation of the review’s recommendations, including on how the management of women’s healthcare and the communication of treatment implications are being addressed by NHS boards; seeks assurances that there will be a patient role in shaping how services supporting mesh-injured women are provided, and calls for clarity around the reimbursement arrangements for women who have arranged qualifying mesh removal surgery privately.”

Original motion(S6M-10915):
That the Parliament welcomes the report of the independent Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review; acknowledges the severe and painful complications endured by women after the implantation of transvaginal mesh and regrets that their trauma may have been exacerbated by initial service responses that doubted their lived experiences; notes the continuing improvement in support, informed by the views of affected women, offered by the specialist mesh surgical service at the New Victoria Hospital in Glasgow in particular and NHS Scotland in general, in ways well aligned with the recommendations of Professor Britton’s review; further notes the Chief Medical Officer’s request of NHS boards to sustain good practice in the seeking and recording of patients’ informed consent and to be assured locally that affected women are able to access the national mesh removal referral pathway, and supports the Scottish Government’s continuing commitment to offering women a choice of surgeon, if mesh removal surgery is considered appropriate, and to reimbursing women who had previously arranged qualifying mesh removal surgery privately.