Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the compensation scheme for people suffering from the effects of vaginal mesh operations does not cover all those impacted by the use of the same materials in rectopexy procedures.

The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report, and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.

While the PSC does not include rectopexy mesh within her proposed definition of directly harmed patients for the purposes of her redress recommendations, we note that the PSC has said in her report that the Government needs to consider how to investigate issues related to harm caused by other uses of mesh going forward. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations, and will respond substantively in due course.