Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan:

Locally, our colleagues in general practice are aware of it, as are our colleagues in urology. We have worked very hard to set up what we believe to be very good and holistic services, with an aim to be as holistic as possible in the approach to treating the women. This is a very complex situation and it is not a case of one fix answering all problems. We have got two consultant urologists who work as part of our network disability team. We have three subspecialty consultant urogynaecologists and a fourth to be appointed. We have extra physiotherapists and nurse specialists who have been appointed as a result of the investment from the national women and infants health programme into our services in terms of dealing with these patients and trying to address the problem.

This is not a new problem. As a urogynaecologist, I know that we have been using mesh for 20 years in order to treat problems for patients and dealing with complications as they arise. Any surgeon knows there is no intervention that is risk-free or completely safe. That is across the board, no matter how minor the intervention is. However, we have worked really hard in the context of seeking and being able to provide a holistic approach, including in the context of pain support, psychology support, psychiatric support, where required, physiotherapy and surgical interventions. When we carry out procedures and look after patients with seriously complex issues and undertake surgery, there is always a minimum of two consultants on hand. Usually, there are three or four present for the more difficult and complicated cases. We counsel patients extensively beforehand and work together with them to try to address the problems as best and as safely as we possibly can.