The new Minister of Health for Women, Maree Todd, told MSPs a bill would be tabled “soon” to allow the money to be paid to women severely affected by mesh implants.
MSPs also unanimously voted for a Labor amendment to Ms. Todd’s motion pledging to prioritize action on women’s health for the Scottish Mesh Survivors Group to provide funding “to cover the cost of net removal To cover women who have to undergo private surgery ”.
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More than 20,000 women in Scotland have received mesh implants in the past 20 years, but around 600 have suffered excruciating, debilitating complications in what has been described by politicians as “the greatest health scandal of our time”.
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FMQs: Emotional request to Nicola Sturgeon to bring a US surgeon to Scotland for me …
Nicola Sturgeon previously officially apologized on behalf of the Scottish Government to thousands of women across Scotland who suffered from mesh implants while the then Minister of Health ordered the end of the use of transvaginal nets in September 2018 and said this would not be reintroduced.
During the Holyrood debate, Ms. Todd said, “On the subject of mesh … many of us are aware of the challenges and how deeply it has affected the women concerned.
“The Scottish Government has committed in its 2021 Manifesto to pursue the results sought by the Scottish Mesh Survivors. The use of transvaginal nets was officially discontinued in September 2018 and we are continuing this discontinuation. Significant progress has been made in improving the service for women with complications – the new network removal service is constantly being improved in consultation with patients and I hope this will rebuild the trust that has been shaken among women involved. “
She added: “A law will be introduced into parliament very soon to allow reimbursement for women who have previously requested private network removal. We will follow many of the inquiries these women made to us, and I hope that this will help put an end to the most affected people. “
Scottish Labor health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said she welcomed Ms. Todd’s words but asked for a tender from leading U.S. mesh removal surgeon Dr. Dionysios Veronikis, to perform an operation on women in pain.
She said the tender was “three months ago and we haven’t heard anything. The women absolutely want that, can they say whether there will be quick progress? “
Ms. Todd replied, “Yes. NHS Scotland has launched tenders to enable qualified surgeons to remove mesh from patients where they want, but there is a process and we must abandon it to run its course. “
The minister also said the government would publish a women’s health plan within the first 100 days of its term in office to “reduce preventable inequalities”.
She said the plan, which has been developed over the past 18 months, will initially focus on a few key priorities – improving abortion services, birth control and sexual health, menopause and menstrual health, and women’s heart health.
A poll had already been carried out to ensure that women’s voices were heard as the plan was developed.
“We want women to have a say in how we shape services for the future, and it is absolutely crucial that we listen to women and trust women.”
The Minister added that the plan would take a holistic “life-course” approach to health, emphasizing “the importance of protecting and promoting health at key stages in life”.
Effective communication, Ms. Todd said, would enable women to make informed decisions about their own health and put an end to the “doctor knows best” approach.
Tory health spokeswoman Annie Wells said an “urgent and renewed focus” on women’s health is needed.
“The Scottish Conservatives have welcomed the government’s commitment to a health plan for women,” she said. “We on these benches look forward to the opportunity to carefully examine the government’s plan once it is published.”
Scottish Labor MSP Carol Mochan argued that the SNP government’s record on women’s health was “nowhere near acceptable” and also addressed the issue of women affected by the vaginal mesh scandal.
She said: “An absolutely necessary step is to recognize today the opportunity to redress the wrongs of Scottish network survivors and to guarantee them that they will get the compensation they are entitled to.
“If we can help this group of women, we can give hope to those who believe their own worries have been forgotten, that things may change for the better.
“Today in this Parliament let us use the powers of individuals to restore balance to a group of people who have no institutional power but only their own solidarity, compassion and desire for justice.
“It is time we did this and provided these women with the vital resources to return to a sense of normalcy and not feel left behind by an establishment that seems distant from their lives.”
Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay added: “Women are more likely to be misdiagnosed with heart disease, more likely to have their physical symptoms either completely dismissed or attributed to their mental health.
“You have to believe women when they seek help. If you are told that your physical pain is only in your head, it will no doubt deter you from accessing health care in the future. “
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source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/women-affected-by-mesh-scandal-will-have-private-surgery-costs-paid-by-scottish-government/
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