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Surgical Mesh Implants

Question for Department of Health and Social Care

UIN 103061, tabled on 5 December 2022

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to undertake a retrospective audit of mesh as called for in Baronness Cumberlege's First Do No Harm, The report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review.

Answered on

13 December 2022

This answer is a correction from the original answer.

We accepted the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s recommendation to undertake a selective retrospective audit of a defined cohort of women who have undergone mesh procedures. NHS Digital has undertaken an audit of all pelvic floor surgery completed between 2006 and 2011 to generate a historical baseline of outcomes by procedure type and to support further research and analysis. This audit was conducted using initial procedures and re-operations/ follow up procedures recorded within Hospital Episode Statistics data. While the audit has been completed and is undergoing peer review, which may necessitate further enhancements, prior to publication in 2023.

Original answer

We accepted the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s recommendation to undertake a selective retrospective audit of a defined cohort of women who have undergone mesh procedures. NHS Digital has undertaken an audit of all pelvic floor surgery completed in 2010 to generate a historical baseline of outcomes by procedure type and to support further research and analysis. This audit was conducted using Hospital Episode Statistics data and other data using the identified National Health Service cohort of patients and the longitudinal record to observe outcomes where possible. The audit has been completed and is undergoing peer review prior to publication in 2023.