Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds data on the number of victims of the vaginal mesh implants scandal that have undergone mesh removal surgery (a) within and (b) outside the NHS, and have subsequently found significant mesh residue that was overlooked during remedial surgery; what plans he has to certify NHS specialists as competent to undertake that surgery; and what steps he plans to take to reimburse the cost to victims of the mesh scandal who had to pay for private (i) therapy and (ii) surgery, as a result of a refusal by NHS specialists to accept that their symptoms were (A) physical rather that mental and (B) had been caused by their mesh implants.

NHS Digital advises that it publishes finished consultant episodes for National Health Service hospitals where a procedure for treatment of urogynaecological prolapse or stress urinary incontinence (insertion or removal) is recorded. This provisional data is published monthly and the final data is included in the Annual Hospital Episode Statistics publication.

On mesh removal, NHS England is assessing bids from NHS providers to be specialist centres providing treatment for women with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, every effort is now being made to finalise this quickly and stakeholders will be kept up to date with progress.