Bill passed to compensate women who paid for mesh removal surgery
MSPS have passed a bill which will compensate women who had to pay for mesh implant removal surgery.
The Scottish Parliament unanimously passed th et rans vaginal Mesh Removal( Cost Reimbursement) (Scotland) Bill on Tuesday.
As part of the Scottish Government's plan to address the mesh scandal, a private hospital in Bristol will be made available to carry out mesh implant removal surgery.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the Spire Healthcare facility would be ready for NHS referrals next month.
The surgery is also available on the NHS in Scotland and the government is in discussions with Dr Dionysios Veronikis – a US expert in mesh removal.
Mr Yousaf updated MSPS on the nhs referral route to private surgery.
He said: "I can confirm today that commissioning negotiations with Spire Healthcare have now been completed.
"We expect that contracts for a framework agreement will be exchanged either this week or next, and the Spire hospital in Bristol is expected to become available for referrals during February.
"Discussions between national Services Scotland and Dr Veronikis are also progressing very positively, thanks to the commitment of all parties."
He continued :" it is wrong that women felt that using their own funds to arrange surgery for mesh removal was their only option and I can only imagine the distress which led people to that point.
"In some cases having to pay tens of thousands of pounds, taking out loans, borrowing money from family members and friends, the financial impact alone of private mesh removal surgery will have been severe, let alone the physical and mental health impacts of such a process."
Last year, the scottish government confirmed it would reimbursethe cost of private surgery for women who have already had mesh implants removed.
Such surgeries typically cost between £16,000 and £23,000.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said his party supported the bill.
He said: "We've heard from women with harrowing experiences of mess surgery and so many faced scepticism. They were simply not believed when they were crying out for help.”