The Mesh Down Under campaign group is demanding immediate action to help those suffering from complications from surgical mesh get the surgery they need.
It revealed that more than 1,000 people who had surgical mesh implants have reported mild to severe complications. The Ministry of Health has already heard from 600 victims at forums throughout the country but it’s still not enough.
“Many people do want compensation so that they can get the help that they need - a lot of people that don’t have ACC acceptance can’t actually get the surgery that they need to get the help - it’s just not good enough,” Charlotte Korte, co-leader at Mesh Down Under, told RNZ.
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Andrew Simpson, chief medical officer at the Ministry of Health, said it’s still too early to address compensation.
Commenting on the call for action, he said: “Things don’t always go well – even when you’re going in with the best intent – so how do we ensure that people have the right information to make the best choices for themselves? How do we ensure that we have the right skills in the right place to minimise the risk of harm happening?”
Simpson concluded that they’re still figuring out how to minimise the risk of harm in surgical mesh implants, and that they would release a final report by the end of the year – which includes changes that would be implemented next year.
