Ms Mary McLaughlin:

The British Society of Urogynaecology recently updated all its information leaflets. It now has proper leaflets where the different stages of removal are illustrated and the risks are included. There is a view that partial removal is not the way forward. The Scottish Parliament heard evidence from a lead surgeon and I encourage the committee to arrange a videoconference with that surgeon who can tell it exactly what is going on.

As patients, we are asking for choice but we have a body of surgeons who never went to the bother of learning these skills over the years. Women are going into appointments and being told when they ask for their mesh to be removed that they do not really want that. They are told that full removal is a very dangerous operation. Operations are always dangerous if the relevant medical community does not have the skills. The skill set is not there. It was not there in the UK, Australia, Canada or anywhere else around the world. We are not unique in that regard. A professional cannot gain that special skill set by doing a few operations.