Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Provisional Monthly Hospital Episode Statistics for Admitted Patient Care, Outpatient and Accident and Emergency data April 2018 - March 2019 (M12), what estimate he has made of the number of procedures for stress urinary incontinence and prolapse using mesh carried out during the period of high vigilance restriction which paused such surgery.

NHS Digital publishes data on finished consultant episodes where a procedure for treatment of urogynaecological prolapse or stress urinary incontinence (insertion) is recorded.

In year commencing April 2018, data is available up to March 2019. The March 2019 data is provisional.

The most recent provisional Hospital Episodes Statistics data demonstrates that the number of procedures for insertion from April 2018 is 8,931 in total for all procedures, vaginally inserted mesh or otherwise.

For vaginally inserted mesh, to which the period of high vigilance restriction relates, there have been approximately 31 total procedures up to March 2019 for the introduction of:

- tension-free vaginal tape;

- transobturator tape;

- vaginal tape NEC;

- the repair of vault of vagina with mesh using vaginal approach;

This figure excludes data for the month of July, as guidance on the Pause was issued on 20 July to Regional Directors and Trust Medical Directors. For July, the total figure for insertions is 70, though this includes a period before the Pause came into effect.