MSP: Mesh makers must act morally and pay out
Manufacturers of surgical mesh implants which have caused crippling side effects to patients across Scotland, are being called on to compensate victims and pay millions of pounds worth of treatment costs to the NHS.
MSP Neil Findlay has written directly to one of Scotland’s biggest suppliers, Johnson & Johnson, pointing out that as the firm are offering pay-outs to victims given defective hip implants but not to those scarred by mesh operations. He hopes other firms will also pay out.
He said: “Mesh payments in the US for various manufacturers are now reaching £10 billion, so instead of dragging women who are already ill and struggling with devastating injuries through the costly and combative court system here in the UK, I’m asking them to do the moral thing.
“It would ensure injured women were not forced to endure further stress and anxiety in what has become the biggest medical scandal of modern times.”
Victims like Elaine Holmes, 50, from Newton Mearns, were left crippled following a mesh op. Mr Findlay’s comments come in the same week the government finally conceded patients suffered “debilitating consequences” over poor regulation of medical devices such as mesh, hip implants, heart valves and breast implants.
UK Health and Social Care Minister Jackie Doyle-Price admitted last week commercial interests had been prioritised over patient safety, and doctors had failed to warn about risks.
Johnson & Johnson did not respond, but said in the past: “Surgery with mesh is backed by years of clinical research, has undergone rigorous regulatory reviews and has been the preferred option for millions of women seeking to improve their quality of life.”