4. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services: The Report of the Welsh Task and Finish Group to Review the Use of Vaginal Synthetic Mesh

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:41 pm on 8 May 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 3:41, 8 May 2018

The report highlights that some women, having described their symptoms, were dismissed by medical professionals who had wrongly ascribed symptoms to normal post-operative pain, perhaps. Many women felt they were patronised as a result of that, describing their battles, frankly, to be taken seriously. And this isn't the first time that we've seen this kind of thing; we remember, back in the 1990s, with chronic fatigue syndrome. Can you, as Cabinet Secretary, be a little bit more specific about how that particular issue can be addressed, how awareness, for example, can be raised, and how attitudes can be changed, so that people with unexplained symptoms are regarded as patients first and foremost, with symptoms that need investigating, rather than as people who should frankly just accept a little bit of pain? Because we know now, through the hard work of people who have campaigned for change here, that what was dismissed now has to quite rightly be taken very, very seriously.

The report also highlights the weaknesses with the adverse reaction reporting system for medical equipment, for the medicines healthcare regulatory authority. It's not something that is devolved, but can you describe how your department is going to try to improve that system so that we have earlier warnings?

Finally, regarding the specialist centre for mesh removal, whilst welcome in itself, we could do with something a little bit more concrete in terms of timescales, so I'd be grateful for a proper timescale for that development, so that people can see that words now will turn into action in the not distant future.