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BBC
A woman who had a vaginal mesh implant to treat a prolapse and urinary incontinence has said she lives in "constant pain" and is calling for the government to commit to a deadline for a redress scheme.
Susan McLarnon, from Belfast, is one of several women travelling to Downing Street later to hand a letter to the prime minister asking for "urgent action" to be taken on compensation for those harmed by pelvic mesh implants.
Some women were left in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex, after the surgery to treat incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care said it recognises the "significant impact" the implants had on people and their families.
Two years ago, a major report called for urgent action but campaigners are still waiting.
The government added that it is "carefully considering" the recommendations in the report and aims to provide an update in due course.
McLarnon said, before her surgery, in 2016, she was told it was "easy" to fix the prolapse and was told it was a simple operation but said she was not told about the risks.
However, after the surgery she was in "excruciating pain".
"I walked into the hospital able-bodied and came out in crutches," she told BBC News NI.
In the years following the surgery, she said her mobility and ability to carry out day-to-day tasks like getting washed and dressed and driving have been affected.
She has since had surgery to remove the mesh but it has not been fully removed and the pain never goes away.
The group Sling the Mesh NI, which is made up of women who have been affected, has almost 700 members and McLarnon said she considers herself "one of the lucky ones".
She said others had "lost organs," have had to sell their homes and have had relationship breakdowns.
McLarnon said it is an issue that has affected men as well, with mesh implants for hernias.
"They suffer the same but it's hard to get men to speak out as they don't like to speak about personal things – but they are also in excruciating pain," she added.
Pelvic mesh was used to give weak or damaged tissue extra support and treat incontinence in women for many years
In her report, Dr Henrietta Hughes recommended initial payments of £20,000 should be made to women across the UK who have been injured by mesh implants.
There were then calls for the NI Executive to set up a scheme to pay compensation to women injured by pelvic mesh implants.
McLarnon said the redress is "not just about compensation".
"It will help those who are on waiting lists to see surgeons for removal or go privately," she added.
What is vaginal and hernia mesh?
Surgical mesh is used to support the vagina and organs including the bladder, the rectum, or the urethra.
Vaginal mesh implants are described as medical devices - hernia mesh is used in men.
Mesh was considered to be the gold standard treatment for incontinence and prolapse in women for years.
However, the net-like implant can erode and harden, cutting through tissue causing serious pain and damage to organs.
Some were left in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex.
Kath Sansom, founder of Sling The Mesh, who will be handing in the letter at Downing Street with MP Sharon Hodgson and others, said pelvic mesh had "stolen women's health, irreversibly ruined their quality of life, their independence, and their future".
She and other campaigners are calling for a timescale for a funded, government-backed compensation scheme for all women harmed by pelvic mesh including rectopexy mesh.
How many people in NI were adversely affected by mesh implants?
It is unclear exactly how many women in Northern Ireland are adversely impacted by mesh implants.
While for many the operation has been successful, it's thought that hundreds require removal.
According to an NI Audit report, between 1998 and 2018, there were about 11,000 total vaginal mesh implants carried out in Northern Ireland with a conservative estimate of between 5-10% experiencing problems.
The audit found data was not properly collated within the local health trusts.
What has Northern Ireland's Department of Health said?
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has said it is mindful that those who have been harmed by Pelvic Mesh have had to wait so long for a response to the recommendations of the Hughes Report, but medical devices and medicines are "matters that remain reserved to Westminster".
The DH is, therefore, "unable to move forward on this matter whilst the UK Government formulates its position in response to the recommendations".
The DH noted that Prof Hughes wrote to the prime minister in March asking him to set a clear timetable for the financial redress to be delivered without further delay.
