Mesh patients ‘not given accurate information’ before surgery

Glasgow Caledonian University’s professor of healthcare and medical law has spent two years reviewing the cases of 18 women who received transvaginal mesh implants, for an independent report commissioned by the Scottish government.

More than 40,000 pages of records and interviews with the patients have shown key information was withheld from some of the women, case notes were misleading, and the potential consequences of the surgery were not fully explained.

The Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review recommends the establishment of a Mesh Register to record every case in Scotland, greater support for GPs to help them address concerns from women following surgery, the creation of a national specific consent form, and for clear and precise language to be used by doctors explaining procedures.

Women who require care and support as a result of mesh surgery should also be given a say over the measures put in place to improve their quality of life, the report concludes.

Professor Britton said: “Every patient is entitled to expect and receive accurate information both before any treatment is chosen and to be advised on the effectiveness and consequences of any intervention. Most of the cases that we reviewed did not meet these standards.

“If clear and commonly understood language had been used to explain to women potential treatments and outcomes, even if these were uncertain prior to surgery, this may have alleviated many of the issues that subsequently arose over the course of their clinical journey.

“In a number of the cases, we observed a lack of clarity in the case records documenting the nature and potential outcome of mesh revision surgery. Some notes were misleading, but other cases, did not bear any reflection to the surgery that had occurred, nor its outcomes. These matters may have not come to light, without the commissioning of the Review.

“We recognised that women had concerns about the accuracy and content of their case records and that this required to be explored. If they were to move forward with their lives, the women needed to have it acknowledged that they were not imagining the circumstances in which they find themselves.”