Motion submitted by Councillor Burns
To consider the following Motion submitted by Councillor Burns:
Sling the mesh motion
Vaginal mesh is used for women who may have suffered incontinence or prolapse after childbirth or the menopause. It is a net like product which supports the affected organs and is supposedly there for life.
Patients are told that it’s a simple quick procedure which will take about 20 minutes and they will be able to leave hospital later in the day. However, cases of severe complications after the operation are now emerging as women start to talk more openly about this usually taboo subject.
Some women have spoken about how quickly their symptoms began and others have been affected years later. There are women who have walked into an operating theatre perfectly fit and healthy and come out as physical wrecks, some needing a wheelchair or sticks to walk; others facing a lifetime of pain and the prospect of losing their jobs/homes and others have lost their marriages due to chronic pain while having sex.
Most women aren’t informed of these risks and even when they experience them they’re not taken seriously. Women’s health in general is not taken seriously even now in the 21st Century.
We call on Sefton Council to write to the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt and request a suspension of at least 2 years on the use of vaginal mesh implants until a full investigation into the long term affects has been concluded.
If, after a full investigation has taken place, women are still to be encouraged to have this operation, they should be fully informed of the risks associated with this operation, so they can make an informed choice and women who do choose to have vaginal mesh implants in the future are tracked for life in order to collate accurate data on the long term affects.
Minutes:
It was moved by Councillor Burns, seconded by Councillor Thomas and unanimously
RESOLVED:
Sling the mesh motion
Vaginal mesh is used for women who may have suffered incontinence or prolapse after childbirth or the menopause. It is a net like product which supports the affected organs and is supposedly there for life.
Patients are told that it’s a simple quick procedure which will take about 20 minutes and they will be able to leave hospital later in the day. However, cases of severe complications after the operation are now emerging as women start to talk more openly about this usually taboo subject.
Some women have spoken about how quickly their symptoms began and others have been affected years later. There are women who have walked into an operating theatre perfectly fit and healthy and come out as physical wrecks, some needing a wheelchair or sticks to walk; others facing a lifetime of pain and the prospect of losing their jobs/homes and others have lost their marriages due to chronic pain while having sex.
Most women aren’t informed of these risks and even when they experience them they’re not taken seriously. Women’s health in general is not taken seriously even now in the 21st Century.
We call on Sefton Council to:
(1) write to the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt and request a suspension of at least 2 years on the use of vaginal mesh implants until a full investigation into the long term affects has been concluded; and
(2) if, after a full investigation has taken place, women are still to be encouraged to have this operation, they should be fully informed of the risks associated with this operation, so they can make an informed choice and women who do choose to have vaginal mesh implants in the future are tracked for life in order to collate accurate data on the long term affects.