Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to take note of the progress report on the Australian government's response to the recommendations of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee report into the number of women in Australia who have had transvaginal mesh implants and related matters. This was an extremely significant inquiry, and I want to thank the senator from Victoria, who has left this place, who put this inquiry forward to good effect, because there was a real need for a support base for political action for women who had suffered injuries as a result of transvaginal and other forms of mesh.

It's good to see, as Senator Siewert said, that the government has in large part accepted the recommendations from this report. However, their response highlights that there is indeed more work to be done. I note, for example, that there's a need for a specific register of these devices, and the government hasn't wholly committed to that. They said they support it in principle but that they needed to make sure it was implementable. I cannot overemphasise how important it is to have a clear and transparent register for these devices.

Senator Siewert acknowledged that there has been a significant court case and many women will be eligible for compensation for the pain and suffering and injury that has been caused through these devices as supplied by Johnson & Johnson. But the issue is that many women don't know which company supplied their devices, in large part, because of the poor record keeping of both hospitals and doctors. So in many cases they don't know what mesh was used and inserted in the surgeries that they had, which makes repair and further surgery even more difficult in assessing the damage that has been done to their bodies.

It's worth noting that it's extremely difficult in terms of trying to support women who've had these devices and who have had adverse outcomes, because they don't show up adequately in ultrasounds and MRIs. There has to be particular specialist procedures in order to really get a handle on how and where the damage has been caused. In fact, those who promoted the devices simply said, 'Look, they will be just like having a healthy body again.' Women were indeed misled by the companies and doctors that promoted these devices. And, as Senator Siewert said, we heard many stories from women who went to their specialists and simply were not believed in relation to the pain and suffering that they were experiencing. So I really want to keep the pressure up on both the state and the Commonwealth governments to see these recommendations implemented in full.

It's very clear that women who have suffered adverse outcomes are not getting adequate support. State and territory governments need to continue to work with the government and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to ensure that there are helplines, pain management, proper multidisciplinary support, comprehensive diagnostic and specialist pain management expertise and to ensure that surgeons are trained in the partial or full removal of this mesh where possible. There needs to be advice and practical assistance for people seeking to access their medical records. I also want to make sure that as much support as possible is given to women to access their medical records so that they can participate in any future litigation that takes place so that they can receive fair and just compensation for the significant harms that have been caused to them.

Question agreed to.