Government accused of delaying pelvic mesh reforms

A woman has accused the government of “dragging its feet” over reforms for women harmed by pelvic mesh implants, five years after a landmark report.

Campaigners say most of the key recommendations from the 2020 First Do No Harm review have been ignored, leaving thousands without compensation or adequate support.

Only three of nine key proposals have been fully implemented since the report revealed how women’s concerns were overlooked, resulting in lasting harm, according to Kath Sansom, founder of the campaign group Sling The Mesh.

Led by Baroness Cumberlege, the review examined the impact of pelvic mesh implants and two drugs – Primodos and sodium valproate. The team spoke to more than 700 women and their families who had experienced complications.

Pelvic mesh is a net-like implant used to support weakened or damaged tissue, often to treat bladder leakage after childbirth. In some cases, the mesh eroded or hardened, cutting through tissue and leaving women in chronic pain, unable to walk, work or have sex.

Primodos, a hormone-based pregnancy test used in the 1970s, is thought to be linked to birth defects and miscarriages. Sodium valproate, an epilepsy medication, was found to cause major birth defects, but many pregnant women were not properly warned of the risks.

Ms Sansom said only three of the report’s recommendations had been fully implemented: a formal government apology, specialist mesh complication centres, and the appointment of a patient safety commissioner for England.

A fourth – the creation of a database to track patients who have received medical devices – remains in progress.

Ms Sansom, from March in Cambridgeshire, said she became an “accidental advocate” after undergoing a pelvic mesh procedure to treat bladder leaks caused by childbirth, which left her in “terrible pain”.

She said: “The institutional inertia amplifies the suffering – especially the lack of compensation for the harm caused to thousands of women who innocently trusted their doctor that they were being given a safe treatment.

“Five years ago, Baroness Cumberlege laid bare the systemic failures that caused irreparable harm yet here we are in 2025, and the government has dragged its feet on the most critical reforms.

“Women are still being failed by a healthcare system that was supposed to protect them.”

She also criticised the decision to move the patient safety commissioner role from the Department of Health and Social Care to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, saying it “silences the patient voice instead of strengthening it”.

Sharon Hodgson, Labour MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group First Do No Harm – Mesh, Primodos, Valproate, said the lack of progress was “hugely disappointing”.

“Five years ago today, things felt hopeful,” she said.

“The review marked what we thought would be the beginning of real systematic change, the start of building a system that listens to women when they report harm – an end to defensiveness and denial.”

She added that thousands of women and families “irreversibly harmed through no fault of their own” had yet to receive compensation.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The harm caused by pelvic mesh continues to be felt today.

“Our sympathies are with those affected and we are fully focused on how best to support patients and prevent future harm.

“The Department of Health and Social Care is considering the recommendations in the report and will provide a further update.

“Health minister Baroness Gillian Merron met patients affected and has committed to providing a further update.”

The spokesperson added: “This is a complex area of work and the government is carefully considering the patient safety commissioner’s recommendations in full.”