Kath Sansom
Members-
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It’s so important that mesh-injured women are able to access redress for their injuries, many of which are life-changing. Often, financial support is not a bonus but is necessary, as women have had to leave their jobs or reduce their hours to cope, move to accessible housing or sell their home to live with family. Many have also experienced marriage breakdown as a result of mesh complications. One in four women in Sling The Mesh need a stick to help them walk, so need to pay for mobility aids or scooters, and there are also the ongoing costs of travel to doctors and hospital appointments. -
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PP mesh has been widely used in surgery for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and transvaginal or transabdominal prolapse since the 1990s,[1] and hernia repair since the 1950s.[2] In spite of this long history, there is a surprising lack of research into the link between surgical mesh and autoimmune conditions. Among the many complications reported by women who have had vaginal mesh surgery, autoimmune symptoms feature high on the list. One member of the Sling the Mesh Facebook group was recently looking for answers about her own autoimmune symptoms when she came across a Medical device m -
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NHS England set up a handful of specialist mesh centres in April 2021 to offer treatment and support to women harmed by vaginal mesh surgery. But they aren’t achieving what they need to, and this failure is leaving thousands of women harmed by mesh without help to deal with their life-changing complications, and without hope that their pain will ever be taken seriously. Here are ten problems with specialist mesh centres, identified through my regular contact with thousands of women suffering from mesh complications. 1. There are long waiting lists of sometimes more than a year just f -
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After years of struggle to get our voices heard, the final report of the Cumberlege Review gave women harmed by mesh a ray of hope that perhaps help, and redress, were at hand. The report recommended that the NHS establish specialist mesh centres across the country to provide mesh removal and other treatment options to women suffering from debilitating complications as a result of pelvic mesh surgery. As Founder of Sling the Mesh, I was keen that our 9,000+ members were involved in the process of designing how these specialist centres would be set up. It had taken us a long time to get he- Posted
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In Spring 2021, I was due to meet a senior NHS official, along with a group of pelvic mesh campaigners, to ask for consistent training of all surgeons performing mesh removal procedures. That meeting was cancelled, and I’m calling for it to be reinstated, and fast. We desperately need action to sort out the inadequate, piecemeal approach the NHS has taken to redress the harm caused by surgical mesh. I manage a Facebook support group of over 9,200 women, most of whom are still living with debilitating pain and side effects caused by pelvic mesh. Each experience tells of harm added to -
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Ineffective medical device recalls are a patient safety scandal
Kath Sansom posted an article in Women's health
During an online meeting with the Patient Engagement Advisory Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration, I was struck by the huge problems that continue to exist around medical device recalls. I have been campaigning on these issues since 2015 and progress has been painfully slow. Although the meeting had a US-focus, the issues addressed are global. Medical devices travel across the world to be implanted in or used by patients - we have the technology to keep track of them and if we don’t start using it, an increasing number of patients will be harmed. Here are some of the issues r- Posted
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Falling asleep at the wheel causing a multiple car crash is considered such a serious offence in law that the driver could face up to 14 years in prison.[1] When it comes to falling asleep at the medical regulation wheel, however, causing major harm to patients, the result appears to be a review, knuckles rapped, a few negative media reports and then business as usual. Campaigners celebrated when Baroness Cumberlege called for urgent reform of the way healthcare treatments are regulated in her First Do No Harm Report.[2] But really, this is old news. As long ago as 2005, th -
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Corruption, greed and deceit, sound like the basis of a gripping crime novel or a binge-worthy Netflix series, but for patient campaigners it’s what we find on an alarming basis when it comes to the lucrative world of healthcare. We’re in an age of miracles where modern medicine can achieve remarkable things, but this can lead to patient safety taking a backseat when shareholders have dollar signs in their sights. We hear how tragedies such as the mesh scandal, Primodos, Valproate, metal hips and PIP breast implants must never happen again. But until we have tougher regulations, alongside
