Strong interest in surgical mesh forums

The Ministry of Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Andrew Simpson is pleased by the positive response to the announcement of surgical mesh restorative justice forums, which begin today.

“Since we opened the registration process earlier this month more than 300 people have registered to attend one of the sessions around the country,” says Dr Simpson.

“It shows people harmed by mesh, their friends, whānau and families are keen to be heard and understood.”

“To accommodate the demand, we are in the process of adding more forums during September and October.”

“We are also pleased to announce that, with support from ACC, we are now able to offer some reimbursement of travel costs for people wanting to attend the sessions,” says Dr Simpson.

While registrations for the forums is now closed, the option for people to share their story in writing or by audio or video on the website remains open until 31 October 2019.

This process is being facilitated by a team from the Diana Unwin Chair in Restorative Justice at Victoria University of Wellington.

"This is a chance for men and women harmed by surgical mesh to tell their story. This part of the process is incredibly important - we know how much pain and suffering the complications have caused a significant group of people. These sessions are so important."

The first forum begins in Wellington today, with other sessions in Auckland, Christchurch or Dunedin.

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