Surgical mesh: Proposed training pathway needs more patient input, say campaigners

A proposed new training pathway for treating complications of pelvic mesh implants needs more input from patients and more consistent supervision of surgical procedures being carried out, campaigners have urged.

The pathway proposed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) aims to outline the skills required of doctors working in specialist mesh removal centres, which were set up after a recommendation in the Cumberlege review into avoidable harm among patients injured by implanted pelvic mesh.

But a joint blog published on 17 February by Patient Safety Learning and Sling the Mesh raised several concerns about the proposed pathway, including that the consultation for implementing it was too short and not well publicised, offering limited opportunities for patients and groups to comment.

The groups wrote, “While the development of the training pathway did involve a focus group of six women with mesh related issues, we believe that RCOG have missed an opportunity to engage much more widely."

“Patient engagement is key to improving patient safety, even more so when there has been a significant loss of trust for patients in healthcare professionals, such as in the case of surgical mesh. We believe it is vital that RCOG, further to its focus group, should be engaging directly with patient groups to hear their concerns and experiences and to genuinely co-produce this type of guidance.”

Jo Mountfield, vice president of the RCOG, said that the concerns raised by the groups would be considered as part of the review process. She acknowledged that the consultation period could have been longer.

She said, “There will be further opportunity to involve patient groups as part of our application to the General Medical Council for approval of the training pathway, and we will take the comments raised in this blog on board."

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: BMJ, 17 February 2022

Related reading

• First Do No Harm APPG public meeting on redress: Speech from Kath Sansom (26 January 2022).
• Kath Sansom, ‘Mesh removal surgery is a postcode lottery’ – patients harmed by surgical mesh need accessible, consistent treatment (2 December 2021).
• McFadden et al, The long-term impact of vaginal surgical mesh devices in UK primary care: a cohort study in the CPRD (20 August 2021).
• Sharon Hartles, Mesh: Denial, half-truths and the harms (23 March 2021).
• Patient Safety Learning, A year on from the Cumberlege Review: Initial reflections on the Government’s response (23 July 2021).