PELVIC MESH SCANDAL
Pharma harm
FIVE years after Baroness Cumberlege’s
(pictured) First Do No Harm
report called for thousands of victims of the pelvic mesh scandal to be compensated (
Eye
1530), why have just 140 women received any payout?
The landmark review looked at the devastating impact of the health system’s “glacial” responses to high-risk medical interventions, including pelvic mesh, which has left between 10,000 and 40,000 women in the UK with life-changing side-effects. Some died of sepsis; others have taken their own lives.
However, in contrast to the infected blood and Post Office scandals, Baroness Cumberlege’s recommendation for a scheme to at least financially redress the avoidable harm done to so many has been ignored. After a single successful lawsuit last year against three manufacturers, campaigners say any further group actions are unlikely without government action.