August 2017
The final Steering Committee meeting held on 19 July marked the end of this stage of the implementation of the Barrett Commission of Inquiry Recommendations. Health Consumers Queensland has also provided a final written report as well as a short video final report.
Health Consumers Queensland has been honoured to support the codesign and Ministerial announcement today of the location of the new statewide Queensland Pelvic Mesh Service based out of the Gold Coast, to open in the first half of 2019.
See below for a statement from our CEO Melissa Fox.
Today is a momentous and emotional day for mesh affected women in Queensland and their advocates.
Thank you to the individual woman who originally brought this issue to our organisation’s attention. Today was for you.
Thank you to the women who bravely shared with us and Queensland Health your most intimate and awful experiences of being let down by our health system. What you so clearly articulated as your health needs, have formed the basis of the model of service that will be delivered.
That so many of you hadn’t been listened to and taken care of by the health professionals that you trusted, is an indictment on how we treat mothers in our society. Hopefully today is another step towards your healing and you receiving the care that you need to live your best lives possible.
To the women who have guided the development of this service, thank you for your patience and ongoing commitment.
Thank you to the Clinical Excellence Queensland in Queensland Health and the Health Minister Steven Miles MP. You have listened with compassion, respect, at times horror at the experiences the women have shared and most of all a solid commitment to Queensland meeting the health needs of these women. (more…)
10 October 2018 Sorry is a Good First Step
Peak consumer health groups around Australia have welcomed Health Minister Greg Hunt’s apology to women whose lives have been severely impacted by trans vaginal mesh implants.
“We congratulate the Minister for recognising that these women have waited too long for validation from a system that treated them as unreliable witnesses to their own pain and suffering.” “But ‘sorry’ is just a good first step. It doesn’t in itself deliver a happy ending.”
While the government has supported 12 of the 13 recommendations of the Senate’s Inquiry into TVM, half of these are supported in principle rather than in substance. In fact the only tangible initiative is the announcement of a Clinical Quality Register for urogynaelogical procedures and even that commitment is capped at “considering the feasibility” of establishing such a register.
Glaringly absent is any new funding to resource integrated care pathways for affected women.
“We are concerned that State and territory support for mesh affected women has to date been inconsistent and patchy with attempts at meaningful co-design of care pathways happening only in a small number of states.
“These women must be central to the design of appropriately resourced and compassionate, multidisciplinary care that includes access to removal by skilled clinicians, pain management and psychological support. We call upon COAG to direct the states and territories to work together to ensure a nationally consistent service response to women’s healthcare needs.
“While the federal Health Minister has kicked the mesh can down the road to the States he is also calling for system reform through institutional self-regulation. Expecting the various bodies that failed their duty of care to pick up their game without addressing their accountability is a forlorn expectation.”
“Further expecting the TGA to improve its adverse event reporting is at odds with the fact that they have registered 364 events to date compared with the 1,000 women who are parties to class action and the 2,400 women who have reported their experiences directly to consumer health groups. “The Minister needs to act decisively on the question of credentialing surgeons and on mandating informed consent (70% of affected women did not give informed prior consent to their procedure). While we applaud the few substantive initiatives announced in this response, a reliance on nonbinding guidelines and self-regulation by bodies that have failed to self-regulate will not wish the problems of mesh away.
For comment and further information contact:
Melissa Fox (Health Consumers Queensland) 04048 2716 / 07 3012 9090
Danny Vadasz (Health Issues Centre, Victoria) 03 8676 9050
Anthony Brown (Health Consumers New South Wales) 02 9986 1082
Julia Overton (HCA SA) 08 8231 4169 Pip Brennan (Health Consumers WA) 08 9221 3422
Darlene Cox (ACT HCCA) 02 6230 7800