Sling the Mesh campaign and MP Sharon Hodgson have written to Irish Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, urging her to uphold the current ban on bladder mesh slings. This comes in response to growing pressure from some Irish surgeons to reintroduce the controversial devices, despite overwhelming evidence of the life-altering harm they have caused to thousands of women. We believe it is vital that patient safety remains the priority. Below are the full letters sent to the Minister.

---

Dear Minister,

I am writing to you as a concerned advocate for women’s health and safety, and in support of the ongoing efforts by my campaign group Sling The Mesh.

I urge you not to lift the current suspension on transvaginal mesh implants used to treat bladder leaks.

Thousands of women across the UK and Ireland have suffered devastating, life-altering complications because of mesh procedures. These include chronic pain, nerve damage, autoimmune responses, permanent disability and loss of sex life.

Many have lost their ability to work, care for their families, they live in constant pain, many have lost marriages and had to sell homes and cash in pensions to financially survive.

The suspension of bladder mesh slings in 2018 was a necessary and compassionate response to a public health crisis that should never have occurred.

Despite the clear findings of the scathing Cumberlege Review and the Hughes Report, which both highlighted the systemic failures in the regulation and oversight of mesh products, there has been no meaningful redress for the women affected 

Lifting the suspension now, without a robust, transparent, and patient-led review – with mesh injured patients at the helm – would be a betrayal of the trust placed in the healthcare system by the very people it is meant to protect.

Recent scientific scrutiny has revealed significant flaws in the evidence supporting the use of pelvic mesh, particularly polypropylene (PP) mesh, for treating pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. A major study led by the University of Sheffield found that PP mesh begins to degrade within just 60 days of implantation, becoming stiffer and releasing particles into surrounding tissues—raising serious concerns about its long-term stability and biocompatibility. 

Despite its initial approval based on similarities to hernia mesh, transvaginal mesh was introduced without rigorous premarket testing and no post market surveillance for its specific application, leading to widespread complications such as chronic pain, infection, and organ perforation – not properly logged in any long-term data.

The U.S. FDA eventually banned its use for pelvic organ prolapse in 2019 after manufacturers failed to prove it was more effective than traditional tissue repair.

In addition, many scientific studies supporting the use of pelvic mesh are flawed in their lack of long term follow up (mesh can caused problems as much as 20 years later with its ticking time bomb effect), or have authors who are either working for industry or have taken funding from industry – leading to significant bias in the results such as overstating benefits and downplaying risk. Some studies have employed mischievous tactics such as p-hacking to skew positive results or have used flawed outcome logging questionnaires that do not capture new onset of hideous complications eg mesh slicing through vaginal walls or into bowels.

These findings highlight how early regulatory decisions and insufficient / flawed long-term studies contributed to a flawed scientific foundation for pelvic mesh use, ultimately putting thousands of patients at risk.

The so-called “quick fix” of surgical mesh implantation has proven to be a long-term financial disaster for the NHS. Far from being a cost-effective solution, recent studies from Oxford University have shown that women who received pelvic mesh implants often require extensive follow-up care for a wide range of complications, including chronic pain, infections, and organ damage. These complications not only diminish quality of life but also result in repeated hospital visits, corrective surgeries, and long-term medical support – costing the NHS thousands. Also placing a burden on the benefits and PIP system where women have had to give up work due to significant pain and mobility issues.

Sling The Mesh campaign has consistently called for:

• A permanent ban on mesh for incontinence until long-term safety is proven.
• Full financial redress for those already harmed.
• Investment in safer, non-mesh alternatives and specialist care for injured women.

The time for silence and delay is over. Women deserve to be heard, believed, and protected. I respectfully urge you to maintain the suspension on bladder leak mesh slings and to prioritise the health and dignity of those already affected.