Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to collect data on the number of women who have had vaginal mesh surgery who experienced (a) pain, (b) a reduction in the quality of sex life, (c) constant urinary infections and (d) a reduction in the quality of life.

On 21 February, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced the establishment of a prospective registry covering urogynaecological pathways for stress urinary incontinence and prolapse, including procedures using mesh implants. Registry data will support the understanding of comparable benefits, risks and patient outcomes over time.

NHS Digital is in the process of undertaking a retrospective audit (secondary analysis of existing data) of surgery for stress urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse, which will help the National Health Service to better understand complications related to surgery using vaginal mesh. Analysis will include the number of patients who have undergone an operation and will investigate in part their subsequent interactions with the NHS through hospital outpatient appointments.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) Yellow Card Scheme allows patients to report any adverse outcomes experienced from the use of a medical device, no matter how long ago the surgery took place. The MHRA is continuing to enhance awareness of the Yellow Card reporting system for adverse outcomes to increase reporting rates among both clinicians and patients.