The South Australian Government has today issued a formal apology to the hundreds of South Australians injured by pelvic mesh implants, spanning decades.
On the eve of International Mesh Awareness Day, Health Minister Chris Picton today in Parliament acknowledged the life-altering complications for many women and some men across Australia from pelvic mesh procedures.
A public apology on behalf of the South Australian Government was a recommendation of a parliamentary enquiry, spearheaded by Member for Torrens Dana Wortley, which examined the harm caused by pelvic mesh implants.
The inquiry heard from many mesh-injured women and their families, finding that the damage caused by failed mesh devices was likely to be more widespread than it was thought to be by the health system and medical profession. It also provided recommendations to improve services available to those affected.
Surgical mesh implants have been used in various forms for more than 50 years. Originally developed to treat hernias, they were later adapted for pelvic floor disorders, including stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
Stress urinary incontinence is a common condition with nearly half of all women who have delivered a child experiencing some degree of pelvic floor dysfunction. Around one in five of these women will require surgery.
Some implants were banned in 2017 and a Senate inquiry in 2018 found women who were suffering after having the mesh inserted were "ignored" and "treated appallingly". Manufacturer Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiary were found in a class action lawsuit to have misled both patients and doctors about the safety and efficacy of nine transvaginal mesh products.
In June 2023, the Royal Adelaide Hospital's Pelvic Mesh Clinic employed its first local and publicly credentialled urogynaecologist in over a decade. The clinic has performed 24 full mesh removals in the public health system, with 192 surgical procedures completed.
In 2024, the Pelvic Mesh Specialist Group welcomed three new consumer representatives. These representatives are helping shape the future of the clinic, advocating for improvements, and ensuring lived experience remains central to the treatment and care provided.
All supported recommendations from the enquiry have either been met or action is continuing.
As put by Chris Picton
Today I am here to offer an apology on behalf of the South Australian Government to all South Australians impacted by the medical failure of surgical mesh implants.
I am sorry for the pain, embarrassment, and gaslighting you have endured.
I am sorry for the times you questioned your own experiences, were dismissed by those who were meant to care for you, and had to fight to receive the appropriate, compassionate and quality care you deserved.
It is our government's responsibility to continue to improve services for those seeking care.
We need to improve education for primary care so no woman is left dealing with these injuries by herself.
We are committed to doing what we can to ensure this doesn't happen again.
As put by Dana Wortley
In recognition of International Mesh Awareness Day on May 1, we acknowledge the courage and the selflessness of all the women and men affected by failed medical mesh implantation who stood together in South Australia, to have their voices heard.
We recognise those affected by failed medical mesh devices whose voices went unheard for so long, causing them enormous suffering, ridicule, and frustration, and we acknowledge also, the devastating impact it has had on their lives and that of their families.
While we can't turn back the clock and change these events, we can learn from them and take steps to ensure they are never repeated.
We have come some way, however, there is still more to be done. This is not a report that sits on a shelf only to gather dust.
