Motions

International Mesh Awareness Day

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (10:46): I move:

That this house—

(a) notes that 1 May 2025 is International Mesh Awareness Day, Mesh Awareness month;

(b) acknowledges that thousands of women and men around the world have suffered adverse effects from medical mesh, including in South Australia;

(c) calls on the state government to make a public apology to the South Australians who have been adversely affected by medical mesh; and

(d) proceed with implementing the remaining recommendations of the Social Development Committee inquiry: Surgical Implantation of Medical Mesh in South Australia.

I know that has been previously moved, but I just want to highlight the wording of that motion, because we have a number of people in the gallery today, and I think that is important.

This motion provides an opportunity to focus on the recommendations and where we are at with the implementation of those recommendations. Following the Senate inquiry, it was evident that there was a need to hear from South Australians about their experiences and how the process of identifying mesh injury and the pathway to removal could be achieved. The 44^th report of the Social Development Committee, 'The surgical implantation of medical mesh in South Australia', was handed down in June 2021 with a number of recommendations.

Today, I want to thank all who contributed to the inquiry and extend a warm welcome to some of those who join us in the chamber today. In doing so, I recognise the many women and some men across South Australia whose voices were unheard for so long, and acknowledge the suffering, ridicule, frustration, pain and life-changing impact that failed mesh devices have had on their lives and the lives of their families. While we cannot turn back the clock and change these events, we can learn from them and we can take steps to ensure that they are never repeated.

The first time I heard about mesh was from a constituent, Tracey. Tracey left a message with my trainee. She wanted me to return her call. A couple of days later, I knocked on Tracey's door. She opened the door, grabbed my hand and said, 'You need to hear what I have to say.' Tracey told me: 'I'm not a number. I'm not a statistic. I'm a woman who was just 29 years old when mesh ruined my life.'

She told me that mesh stole her life, it stole her children's happiness and it almost stole her marriage. She said, 'It stole my mind and my body and my ability to trust another human being.' She told me that the damage—physical, emotional, financial and psychological—was far more damaging than the very reason why she had the surgery in the first place.

We also have in the gallery today, Kim, an active advocate who has worked tirelessly to have the voice of mesh-injured women heard. A mother of four, a career paramedic and a registered nurse, Kim shared with the committee her experience about the life-altering impact on her and her family physically, emotionally and financially, along with the impact on her professional life. Kim had the mesh implanted in a South Australian hospital a number of years ago and had to travel to the US at her own expense to have it removed.

Also in the gallery today is Yvonne, who was not fully informed prior to mesh being implanted. The procedure has negatively impacted and altered every aspect of her life. She told me that going into surgery she was fit and active, a much-needed wife, mother and grandmother, and she was full of hope. Yvonne developed a foreign body reaction to mesh, which she says stole her dignity, self-esteem, confidence and independence.

For years we have had women in South Australia and around the world telling these stories. In evidence, we heard similar stories that after months and months, for some even years, of going to doctors and specialists with all sorts of symptoms there was no available record of the mesh implantation. Some had numerous tests searching for the cause of their symptoms, and some were told symptoms were in their head, given medication and diagnosed as hypochondriacs or suffering from anxiety.

As a result, there were relationship breakdowns with partners and other family members who found it difficult to live with a person who apparently had no reason for their pain—pain that left them unable to participate in family activities, have a physical relationship with their partner, contribute to the running of the household or participate in the workforce. They had been told their debilitating symptoms were all in their head.

We heard evidence from witnesses that it was not until their partner's penis was grated during intercourse, as if by a cheese grater—when there were actual physical signs—that the medical profession actually saw the impact that the mesh, which in some cases was coming through the vaginal wall, was having. If it could do this, what other internal damage was it creating? We know that the consequences for some women have been severe. We also know that there are men impacted by the implantation of medical mesh. Not everyone will experience negative outcomes, but the risk, particularly with some medical mesh devices, is significant.

Today, I thank all who persevered and were brave enough to tell their own personal story, although I know at times it was difficult and that you paid the emotional price. To each of you, please know it is your valuable contribution that has paved the way for a less harrowing journey for those appearing in more recent times with adverse symptoms and for ensuring confirmed consent is sought prior to a procedure. You have made a difference. I will leave it to the Minister for Health, who has been supportive from day one, to update the house on the implementation of the recommendations.

Ms PRATT (Frome) (10:52): On behalf of the opposition, I rise to speak to this motion in full support, noting that 1 May is recognised as International Mesh Awareness Day and the start of Mesh Awareness Month. I want to begin by acknowledging our guests in the gallery today. I thank all of you for coming along in support of this motion and I am sure that you all have your own story to share that brings you here.

This day, International Mesh Awareness Day, highlights the complications suffered by some men, but mostly women, who have had mesh implants to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. We know that approximately 150,000 Australian women have had pelvic mesh used in surgery in the last 20 years.

Medical mesh is made of plastic polypropylene to treat hernia and pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence, which is common among women. These pelvic mesh devices have been linked to serious complications like bleeding and infection, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and irreparable incontinence. Internationally, consumers and clinicians continue to raise serious concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of these devices to treat pelvic prolapse and incontinence.

Going back in time, just a few years, the former Liberal government during our term also recognised the impact this was having on your health, on the health and wellbeing of South Australian women, and at the time initiated a comprehensive strategy to address the recommendations of the inquiry to which the member for Torrens refers. It included the formation of various advisory and clinical groups, the establishment of a consumer support service, the creation of informational resources and the implementation of a clinical audit and referral pathway for women affected by pelvic mesh complications. In addition, a communication plan was developed to engage with stakeholders.

I referenced that by way of demonstrating that governments of both persuasions, Liberal and Labor, have continued in their recognition of the ongoing concerns, lack of research evidence and the personal impact that this has had on South Australians and what responsibility governments of the day have to pay attention to that and address those issues.

The former Liberal government also acknowledged the evidence collected and recommendations that were made at the time by the commonwealth Senate inquiry in 2018 into transvaginal mesh and the work done by SA Health since that time to mobilise a strategy to address those important recommendations.

To go back four years, during the term of that former Liberal government, on 25 May 2021, as you would be fully aware, the Social Development Committee tabled its 44^th inquiry into the surgical implantation of medical mesh and at the time the committee members, who have developed or delivered recommendations that we now speak to today, sat across both chambers. In the other place contributors to those recommendations that impact our guests today were the Hon. Connie Bonaros MLC, the Hon. Emily Bourke MLC, the Hon. Dennis Hood MLC, the Hon. Robert Simms MLC and from the lower house, Dr Richard Harvey, Ms Paula Luethen and, of course, the member for Torrens, Ms Dana Wortley.

Currently, the member for Torrens and I sit on the same committee looking at other social issues, but I want to commend the work that the member for Torrens has not shied away from that has culminated in today that brings you here as our guests. The member for Torrens, as a member of that committee at that time, really did contribute to the inquiry in a significant way and she has been determined—dogged—in her pursuit of recognition for you, for mesh sufferers, and I wish to put on the record in this chamber that consistency, that determination that she has taken to lobby her own health minister, which has led to today's public apology by the state government.

At the time, the committee made 17 recommendations which to this day remain current and reasonable. Recommendation No.13 suggested that:

On behalf of the Government of South Australia, consider issuing a public apology to the women and their families affected by medical mesh in South Australia, for the systemic failures of the Healthcare system in detecting and acting promptly on issues around medical mesh, and for continuing to implant mesh in the public hospitals, despite a lack of robust clinical and longitudinal research data on the efficacy and safety of medical mesh.

The report of that committee looked at several issues in the evidence which suggested the physical, material and psychological damage that can be caused by failed mesh devices is at least as severe as it has been reported to be by mesh-injured people and is likely to be more widespread than it was thought to be by the health system and medical profession. That was four years ago. Here we are today.

The enduring physical, financial and emotional toll has been well documented but we would all be familiar with reports of deaths due to mesh injuries in addition to years of pain and suffering that as our guests you have experienced, I am sure. Mesh survivors' accounts were described as calamitous, shocking, disastrous and preventable. The role of mesh in their injuries was not identified or it was ignored.

Today, in recognition of International Mesh Awareness Day, we welcome the state government's decision to offer a public apology as requested and determined by the Social Development Committee four years ago. This apology, I hope, will go a long way to acknowledging the profound pain and distress caused by these medical failures. This public apology follows years of advocacy from impacted individuals and a parliamentary inquiry that highlighted the catastrophic injuries resulting from these implants.

Not only are we joined today by so many fantastic advocates, guests and, I am sure, sufferers, but in the media today we have also heard from a sufferer and advocate, Kim Blieschke, who has endured significant personal suffering and crippling medical costs due to mesh implants that required her to travel to the United States for surgical removal. In Kim's own words, 'It doesn't fix the pain or change the lifelong consequences we all live with.' Kim, we thank you for your brave advocacy. On behalf of the opposition, I support the motion.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (11:00): Today, on behalf of the South Australian government, I apologise to those South Australians adversely impacted by medical mesh implants. On the eve of International Mesh Awareness Day, I acknowledge the life-altering complications for many women and some men across South Australia because of mesh procedures.

For the pain, embarrassment and gaslighting that you have endured, we are sorry. For the times when you have questioned your own experiences, were dismissed by those who were meant to care for you and had to fight to receive the appropriate, compassionate and quality care you deserved, we are sorry. To those who have had to wait years for corrective surgery through the public health system, we are sorry, and to those who still today are physically and emotionally affected by this systemic failure, we are sorry.

I know that this apology does little to right the wrongs which you have endured. It is now our government's responsibility to ensure that our response remains on target, to continue to improve services for those seeking care, to improve education for primary care so no woman is left dealing with these injuries by herself and, importantly, to do what we can to ensure that this does not happen again.

This has been a story centred on the resilience of those impacted by the unintended and downplayed consequences of purported innovation. Between 2003 and 2018, approximately 11,000 mesh procedures had been performed in South Australia, yet it became increasingly clear that the rate of complications was significantly higher than the success rates. Women reported chronic pain, mesh erosion, infections and permanent nerve damage. Some required multiple surgeries to attempt removal of the mesh, often with limited success. By 2018, more than 4,000 women had already re-presented with complications. Every year since, it is estimated that around 150 women will require ongoing care through a multidisciplinary specialist clinic.

I would like to acknowledge the many women we have here today who are survivors of mesh implants and thank them for their bravery and resilience in battling what has been an awful experience. One of those people here today who has been a fierce advocate for mesh-injured South Australians over many years is Kim from Port Pirie. Kim has her own extraordinary story of pain and resilience that I am sure many sufferers here today can relate to.

Following the births of her three children, she developed a severe pelvic organ prolapse which significantly impacted her ability to work as a paramedic and manage daily family life. In March 2006, she underwent pelvic mesh surgery. Kim said she was not adequately informed about the risks, the size of the mesh or the complexity of the procedure. Postoperatively, she suffered immediate and ongoing complications, including extreme pain, mesh erosion, infections, nerve damage and a loss of bladder and bowel function. Over several years, she required multiple surgical interventions, none of which fully resolved her injuries. After her initial surgeon retired, she struggled to find ongoing medical care and support.

In January 2016, after her own extensive personal research and financial sacrifice, she travelled to St Louis, Missouri, in the United States, where she underwent a complex 5½ hour surgery to remove the mesh. The mesh had embedded into her bladder, bowel and pelvic floor muscles. Although the surgery was successful in removing the mesh, she continues to suffer permanent injuries, including chronic pain, nerve damage, joint dysfunction and significant physical and emotional trauma. Her injuries have severely limited both her personal and professional life.

Despite these ongoing challenges, Kim has dedicated herself to advocating for others affected by medical mesh. She contributed to the Social Development Committee's inquiry and served as a consumer adviser on the executive committee responsible for the establishment of the Pelvic Mesh Clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Kim continues to live with permanent disabilities that affect her career, her family and daily life.

Sadly, Kim's story is not unique. The class action instigated against one of the world's most prominent medical device manufacturers found companies had misled both patients and doctors about the safety and efficacy of nine transvaginal mesh products. Thanks to the courage of three Australian women who had undergone transvaginal mesh procedures, the class action gave a voice to thousands whose suffering had been dismissed or downplayed. For years they felt isolated, shamed and disempowered. Their stories were often met with disbelief, despite a growing number of similar reports and a glaring absence of long-term safety studies. This court gave those impacted the justice they deserved with a clear acknowledgement of the wrongdoing of these trusted medical device manufacturers.

Here in South Australia, our parliament undertook an inquiry—as well as the federal parliament in the Senate—into this issue, and we have practical recommendations to work towards safeguarding South Australians like Kim now and into the future. In 2018, following the recommendations of the federal inquiry, SA Health commissioned the establishment of the South Australian Pelvic Mesh Clinic. The clinic has now achieved, or is in the process of achieving, the recommendations from the South Australian inquiry, which were accepted at the time by the then Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon. Stephen Wade.

In June 2023, we reached a milestone: South Australia employed its first local and publicly credentialed urogynaecologist in over a decade. This appointment has increased surgical capacity and reduced dependence on external services. The multidisciplinary team includes that urogynaecologist but also two gynaecologists, one urologist, one colorectal surgeon, one clinical psychologist, a pelvic floor physiotherapist, two clinical nurse consultants and an administration officer.

Since December 2021, the clinic has performed 24 full mesh removals in the public system, and in total 192 surgical procedures have been completed. But we know that there is more work to do in providing timely mesh removal surgery to patients. We know that when women have waited so long to be believed and diagnosed, waiting for a date for surgery is not an additional stress that they need.

In 2024, the Pelvic Mesh Specialist Group welcomed three new consumer representatives. These representatives are helping to shape the future of the clinic, advocating for improvements and ensuring that lived experience remains central to the treatment and care provided. We are committed to partnering with all South Australian mesh-injured women experiencing major complications related to pelvic mesh implants.

I hope that this apology goes some way to alleviating the pain that these women have experienced. Your strength in coming forward, in asking questions, in demanding better is the reason why that mesh clinic exists. Your courage has driven systemic change and your voice continues to guide our response. As we look to the future I want to thank you for being here and for your continued strength and advocacy. I would also like to acknowledge in particular everybody who was involved in that Social Development Committee report: all the members of parliament and also the staff and everyone who contributed to it.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the member for Torrens for her very significant advocacy on this subject for many years. She has been absolutely tireless in fighting for the cause for women affected by pelvic mesh, and it is, I think, in large part because of her advocacy as well that we have now improved services but we are also undertaking this action in the parliament today. With those words, I endorse the motion and offer the South Australian government's apology—our sincere apologies to all South Australian women affected.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence) (11:09): Today, I also rise to support this motion and to acknowledge that tomorrow is International Mesh Awareness Day and the commencement of Mesh Awareness Month. In doing so, I honour the extraordinarily courageous women with us today, whose journey has been so long and so very hard. I hope that our words today, and the Minister for Health and Wellbeing's heartfelt apology on behalf of our government, help in some way as you continue to traverse that journey.

This is a time to recognise and to wholeheartedly applaud the strength, the resilience and the voices of these women with us today and the tens of thousands of women, and some men, around the world who have been terribly affected by the adverse effects of medical mesh implants. We pay special tribute to those who have endured pain, disability and loss, often without adequate support, acknowledgement or justice.

As has been said, medical mesh, commonly used for procedures like pelvic organ prolapse, stress urinary incontinence and hernia repair, was once hailed as a modern medical advancement, but for thousands worldwide it has led to life-altering complications, chronic pain, nerve damage, organ perforation, autoimmune responses and severe limitations in daily life.

For too many years, it has been another example of how women can sometimes be dismissed, not believed, disrespected and gaslit throughout the process of seeking medical treatment, which sadly can sometimes lead to a distrust about the very systems we want to be there to support them.

Through the tireless advocacy and courage of many, we have seen a Senate inquiry, our own South Australian parliamentary committee inquiry and a landmark class action, which have rightly progressed regulatory reforms. The powerful statements from those who provided submissions to the parliamentary inquiry brought to life the ongoing and devastating impacts on their lives that these complications have had.

They also spoke to the trust they had in the medical profession and system, only for them to feel let down through not being given the crucially important information about the risks. Despite progress made over time, many are still living with the consequences of mesh, often still facing difficulties gaining adequate access to treatment, compensation or support. As we mark International Mesh Awareness Day, it is not only a time for reflection, it is a call to action on what we still need to and must do to support those impacted.

There is one member here whom I wholeheartedly thank for her tireless work over years to progress awareness and action. I thank the member for Torrens for her work to date and her continued passionate advocacy on this topic. The member for Torrens has been utterly tireless, relentlessly standing with women, empowering and amplifying their voices. I also thank the Minister for Health and Wellbeing for his actions, his work and the apology today, acknowledging this important day and to help ensure South Australian women have access to support for this and the many other health issues they may encounter over their lifetime.

To the survivors, advocates and families, we see you and we hear you. Know that your fight has brought international awareness, legal reform and so much hope for so many women, for safer medical practices and respect and dignity as women access them. I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (11:14): I will be brief on this, but thank you to the member for Torrens for bringing it up and also to everybody in this house for previously agreeing to the committee actually investigating it.

I want to just go back and compliment not only Kim Blieschke from Port Pirie for bringing it to my attention a few years ago, but also other members from Port Pirie who came into my electorate office. I think I have mentioned it in this chamber before, but I had no idea of the pain, the suffering, the trauma that these women have been through because of an issue that, in my view, went wrong at that particular time.

It is alright for us men: we might complain about something, but I must give credit to women because they are better and do not complain about pain, or whatever it is. In this instance here, when Kim brought it to my attention, with her partner, Jarrad, I listened but I still did not fully understand the impact of what Kim was enduring at that particular time.

We had further discussions regarding her personal issues, and this is where I get not only very emotional but also very appreciative that people come in and talk about their personal issues with me, and specifically women. I find that very rewarding, in a way—and I do not mean that in any other way—because it gives me an opportunity, as a member of the opposite sex, to understand a bit more about some of the issues the female sector deals with.

When Kim and then a few others came into my office in Port Pirie—I was the member for Frome at the time—as well as some people from around the southern part of the electorate, that brought me more of an awareness not only of this issue but also of endo and other issues that have been brought to this chamber. It gave me a far better understanding—and even some of my staff. I have all females in my staff at Pirie and also Port Augusta, and some of them were not fully aware of the consequences, of the pain and also the personal disadvantage these people went through—not only the women but also their husbands or partners, and their children. That was a big issue.

I know that Kim has been an advocate for this for a long, long time. There are a lot of people in our communities who might bring an issue forward, but then they will step back and maybe not highlight their issues, so that in a way they can be behind the scenes. However, Kim has been a great advocate, personally going to the front and making quite sure that everybody basically understands the issues she had—and it was in the paper today, the issues she had. I remember very clearly when Kim and her partner, Jarrad, went over to America to have the procedure. As has been mentioned before, not only was that at a financial cost but also it was a very dangerous course of action, because no-one knew how to remove this mesh.

To all the women, to all the sufferers, who have been persevering with this for many years and who have now brought it to attention in the public domain, I say a very sincere thankyou. To the people who have come and talked to me, you have enlightened me and increased my knowledge of some of the issues on the female side that I was not aware of. That was an eye-opener for me, an awareness, and I can now far better appreciate some of the issues that our communities suffer but that they do not bring to the attention of the public. It is International Mesh Awareness Day tomorrow, and let us be aware.

I want to thank the minister and the government for publicly making an apology. The apology is fantastic, and it is absolutely well and truly overdue, but we must remember that these particular people still have that pain going forward. An apology is a move forward, but there is still the pain, the trauma and the memories. We also must remember that some of these people are not here today because of the overwhelming pain they endured. Again, I commend the motion to the house.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (11:19): I would like to thank the Minister for Health and Wellbeing for his apology on behalf of the government today and also for his ongoing support on this issue. Member for Frome, thank you for your heartfelt words. I know that you have had an interest in this particular issue since it has been in the parliament, and you have always been very supportive.

The former member for Frome, now the member for Stuart, has been supportive from day one, when we first held a forum in the Balcony Room, inviting the women who had contacted me in relation to the issues they were experiencing regarding medical mesh. The Minister for Women, thank you. I know that women are held in such high regard in your heart and in your mind and a day does not go by without you advocating on behalf of women in South Australia.

To the women here today, I know this does not make it better for you. I know that your pain will continue. Tracey, I think you missed the beginning. I know that we started early here. I spoke about the fact that you were the one who brought my attention to this issue. I had never heard of it. In fact, you contacted my office, and it was a young male trainee who took the call and he was not sure what he should say to me. Then a couple of days later I knocked on your door, and you grabbed hold of me and said that I needed to listen to what you were saying.

I know that today some people will think, 'Well, that's an apology.' It is good to hear some of the progress that has been made as a result of the implementation of the recommendations and that we have had a number of mesh removals, full mesh removals and partial mesh removals, here in South Australia. For the people you still have contact with or the new people who are coming forward, we would like to make that journey shorter.

I want to assure you that I am onto it. It is not going to sit and gather dust. A number of the recommendations have been implemented, and we need to continue that going forward. Thank you for your advocacy because you really have made a difference.

Motion carried.