Mesh victims ‘still fighting for justice' five years on from review
Sling the Mesh, a campaign group representing women harmed by mesh, accused governments of 'dragging their feet' on implementing all the recommendations set out in the report.
The review examined how the health service responded to concerns over pelvic mesh – which has been linked to crippling, life-changing complications including chronic pain, infections and loss of sex life; the anti-epilepsy drug sodium valproate – which has been linked to physical malformations, autism and developmental delay in many children when it is taken by their mothers during pregnancy, and hormone pregnancy tests such as Primodos – which are thought to be associated with birth defects and miscarriages.
It concluded that patients came to 'avoidable harm' because the healthcare system failed to respond in a speedy and appropriate way when serious concerns were raised about some medical treatments.
The First Do No Harm review, published in 2020, found patients were 'dismissed' and 'overlooked', while the healthcare system had a 'glacial' and 'defensive' response to concerns over treatments.
It set out a series of recommendations, but campaigners have said that to date, some three of the nine recommendations set out in the review have been implemented.
Sling the Mesh said that the Government had not done a retrospective audit to gauge the scale of the harm caused by mesh implants or provided compensation for women injured as a result.
It also said that ministers had not delivered on a recommendation to reform the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).f
Kath Sansom, founder of the Sling The Mesh campaign, said: 'It's not good enough. Five years ago, Baroness Cumberlege laid bare the systemic failures that caused irreparable harm to women across the UK.
'Yet here we are in 2025, and the Government has dragged its feet on the most critical reforms.
'Women are without compensation and still being failed by a healthcare system that was supposed to protect them.'
MP Sharon Hodgson, chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for First Do No Harm, said: 'To have this little progress five years on from the publication of the report is hugely disappointing.
'Five years ago today, things felt hopeful. The review marked what we thought would be the beginning of real systematic change, the start of building a system that listens to women when they report harm – an end to defensiveness and denial.
'Yet progress can only be seen in three out of the nine changes she proposed, with one still ongoing – leaving five completely untouched.
'Crucially, thousands of women and families who were irreversibly harmed through no fault of their own are yet to see compensation.
'Money will not make up for all they have endured. However, it would at the least remove the financial burden placed on their lives – helping them to navigate the physical, mental and financial impact these scandals have placed upon them and their families.
'Five years on, the time for excuses is over. We need action now and I call on my Government to implement all the recommendations, including updating the House on a timeline for compensation as soon as possible.'
Rebekah Smith, Epilepsy Action's chief executive, said: 'It is a scandal that as far back as 35 years, thousands of women with epilepsy weren't being told about the risks involved with taking valproate in pregnancy when evidence was mounting. These women have had to live with the reality of that for decades and the huge emotional and financial impact it has on their lives.
'It is also a scandal that two reports in the last five years have recommended that families be compensated for the ordeal and yet those affected are still waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel.'
Nicola Swanborough, head of external affairs at the Epilepsy Society, said: 'Five years after the publication of the Cumberlege Review, we welcome the fact that regulations have been tightened around the prescribing of valproate for women with epilepsy, reducing the risk of harm for the next generation.
'But for the families whose lives have been devastated by the side effects of valproate, there has still been no promise of the compensation that they have long campaigned for, and which was recommended by the Patient Safety Commissioner.'
One of the key recommendations of the report was the appointment of a Patient Safety Commissioner, who would be an 'independent public leader with a statutory responsibility'.
A commissioner was appointed, but following the Government's 10-year plan for health last week, it has been confirmed that this role will be transferred into the MHRA.
Ms Sansom said: 'Moving the Patient Safety Commissioner role to the MHRA silences the patient voice instead of strengthening it.
'It strips away independence, undermines trust, and betrays the very women this role was created to protect.'
Earlier this month, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that patients do not need 'ventriloquists' from arm's length bodies to speak for them, and more weight should be given to the likes of MPs and councillors.
Streeting suggested the patient safety landscape is 'cluttered', with NHS leaders receiving 'competing and contradictory instructions' from different organisations.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'The harm caused by pelvic mesh continues to be felt today. Our sympathies are with those affected and we are fully focused on how best to support patients and prevent future harm.
'This is a complex area of work and the Government is carefully considering the Patient Safety Commissioner's recommendations in full.
'Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron met patients affected and has committed to providing a further update.'
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The Independent
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'While I've been honest with the BMA RDC that we cannot afford to go further on pay this year, I was prepared to negotiate on areas related to your conditions at work and career progression, including measures that would put money back in the pockets of resident doctors.' Mr Streeting said that based on talks with the BMA aimed at averting strikes, he had been determined to tackle the 'arduous' training pathway, and 'I made it clear that I was prepared to agree actions to reduce the costs you face as a result of training'. He said he had also been looking at the cost of equipment, food and drink, and 'was prepared to explore how many further training posts could be created – additional to the 1,000 already announced – as early as possible'. Mr Streeting said talks had been progressing but 'I no longer believe that they (RDC) have engaged with me in good faith'. The Health Secretary continued: 'I deeply regret the position we now find ourselves in. 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Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, told the PA news agency health staff will be working 'flat out' to see as many patients as they can during the strike, after NHS England made clear it wants as much pre-planned care as possible to continue. He said: 'Striking doctors should think carefully if they are really doing the right thing for patients, for the NHS and for themselves… 'The strike will throttle hard-won progress to cut waiting lists, but NHS trust leaders and staff will be working flat out to see that as many patients as possible get the care they need.' It is understood that NHS chief Sir Jim Mackey had told trust leaders to try to crack down on resident doctors' ability to work locum shifts during the strike and earn money that way. Leaders have also been encouraged to seek 'derogations', where resident doctors are required to work during the strikes, in more circumstances, the Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported. Rory Deighton, acute and community care director at the NHS Confederation, said: 'These strikes were not inevitable – the Government entered negotiations with the BMA in good faith… 'The impact of these strikes and the distress they will cause patients rests with the BMA.' The BMA has argued that real-terms pay has fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'. The union is taking out national newspaper adverts on Friday, saying it wants to 'lay bare the significant pay difference between a resident doctor and their non-medically qualified assistants'. It said the adverts 'make clear that while a newly qualified doctor's assistant is taking home over £24 per hour, a newly qualified doctor with years of medical school experience is on just £18.62 per hour'. RDC co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said in a statement: 'Pay erosion has now got to the point where a doctor's assistant can be paid up to 30% more than a resident doctor. 'That's going to strike most of the public that use the NHS as deeply unfair. 'Resident doctors are not worth less than they were 17 years ago, but unfortunately they've seen their pay erode by more than 21% in the last two decades. 'We're not working 21% less hard so why should our pay suffer? 'We're asking for an extra £4 per hour to restore our pay. It's a small price to pay for those who may hold your life in their hands.' The statement said Mr Streeting had had every opportunity to prevent the strike, but added: 'We want these strikes to be the last we ever have to participate in. 'We are asking Mr Streeting to get back around the table with a serious proposal as soon as possible – this time with the intent to bring this to a just conclusion.' Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of working and gaining experience to become a GP. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the framing of the BMA advertising campaign was 'disingenuous'. 'Given their repeated use of debunked ways of measuring inflation to overstate their pay claims, it follows a pattern of deliberately misleading calculations from the BMA,' a spokesperson said. 'The average annual earnings per first year resident doctor last year was £43,275. That is significantly more, in a resident doctor's first year, than the average full-time worker in this country earns. 'Resident doctors in their second year earned an average of £52,300 last year and at the top end of the scale, resident doctors in specialty training earned an average almost £75,000 – this is set to increase further with this year's pay award.' The Conservatives accused Labour of having 'opened the door' to fresh strikes with a 'spineless surrender to union demands last year'. Shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew said: 'They handed out inflation-busting pay rises without reform, and now the BMA are back for more. 'They are disrupting care, ignoring patients and gambling with lives. 'This is a betrayal of the NHS and those who rely on it. 'The public deserves hospitals where the doctors are on the frontline rather than the picket line. 'But every day Labour refuses to stand up to union overreach, Britain moves closer to a health service run on the unions' terms rather than the patients'.'
