Sling The Mesh Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland branch of Sling The Mesh is a private Facebook group for people suffering following surgery using polypropylene mesh – be it for incontinence; prolapse, rectopexy or hernia.
There is no good mesh or bad mesh … it’s all the same thing, made from petroleum-based polypropylene plastic. It is not suitable for implanting in the human body.
But patients in Northern Ireland face additional challenges. That’s because the UK’s 10 specialised mesh removal centres are in England and Scotland. It means women not only have to fight to get their case transferred to England, but also have to fly from Belfast or Derry to London for an appointment with a specialist who can remove implants.
Women must get an Extra Contractual Referral (ECR) to have mesh complication treatment outside of Northern Ireland – and this ECR must be signed by their implanting surgeon. This is a conflict of interest and a hugely stressful situation for women.
What’s more, medical negligence claims are very difficult for women in Northern Ireland to pursue because the Law Society of NI, which governs solicitors in Northern Ireland, does not permit its members to offer no win, no fee arrangements.
Safe place
Sling The Mesh Northern Ireland exists to provide a safe place for mesh-injured people.
Members are welcome to share personal experiences on the group, as this is how everyone can learn and make decisions on where we go to seek help with this global issue.
Admission to the group is subject to admin approval. Before admission, you will be required to answer three short questions – this is merely to prevent spammers and trolls.
Please be aware that group members and admins are not medically or legally trained – they try to offer best advice based on their knowledge through being mesh-injured themselves.
Terms and conditions: By becoming a member of Sling The Mesh Northern Ireland, you are confirming that you support the goals and aims of the various mesh campaigns in Northern Ireland and globally. This is a closed group and personal posts should not be copied or shared outside of it. Any member who does so will be immediately expelled from the group. News articles and medical studies can be freely shared.
Sling The Mesh Northern Ireland is also on Twitter, raising awareness of surgical mesh harm.
