Mesh implant procedures should end in Scotland, report says

The use of mesh implants in the Scottish health service should stop, a parliamentary report has concluded.

Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee has urged the Scottish Government to halt the use of such procedures, used in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Thousands of women in Scotland have been treated using the implants but some have suffered painful and debilitating complications.

The committee said they had “serious concerns'' about the final report of an independent review into the use of mesh, which last year concluded that mesh must not be offered “routinely'' to women with pelvic organ prolapse.

The review was announced by the Scottish Government in 2014, with health boards requested to stop the procedure until its conclusion.

Its final report was branded a “whitewash'' by campaigners, including Elaine Holmes and Olive McIlroy, who lodged the original petition with the parliament on behalf of the Scottish Mesh Survivors campaign.

They resigned from the review amid the controversy, as did expert clinician Dr Wael Agur.

Professor Alison Britton has been commissioned to conduct a review of the review, which is due to report later this year.

After considering evidence taken on the issue, the committee said its preference was for “the use of mesh devices to treat SUI and POP to cease in Scotland''.

The report criticised the continued use of the procedure in Scotland despite the request for a moratorium.

“We have serious concerns about the credibility of the final report as a basis for informing both clinicians and patients to make fully-informed decisions,'' the report said.

MSPs said they shared the concerns raised by mesh survivors “about the transparency and true independence'' of the review and warned of the potential for the final report to be used “to justify the lifting of bans on mesh in other jurisdictions''.

The committee said that if Prof Britton's review revealed significant flaws the final report “must be regarded as lacking credibility to the extent that it requires to be revisited''.

Convener Johann Lamont praised the “courage and commitment'' of Ms Holmes and Ms McIlroy.

“Seeing and hearing the experiences of the many women we have heard from during our consideration of this petition was incredibly emotional, with the physical and mental impact plain to see,'' she said.

“One of the most important things to come out of this report was the extent to which women were not believed when they were highlighting their concerns to the medical profession, ultimately resulting in there being no record of their concerns.

“Now that we have published this report, we urge the Scottish Government to respond to our recommendations and the concerns of women.''

Deputy convener Angus MacDonald said the report had cross-party support.

He said: “The committee members stand firmly behind this report, particularly given the recent announcement in England of a temporary ban and the subsequent announcement in Northern Ireland.

“The committee expects a positive response from the Scottish Government, particularly given we're awaiting the review of the review from Professor Alison Britton which will hopefully shed some more light on this extremely upsetting saga.'