Minister of Health ‘Unaware” of Health Concerns.
A 74% increase in surgical mesh injury claims in the past three years and Jonathan Coleman’s catch cry is - write me a
letter!
Jonathan Coleman told members of the Mesh Down Under (MDU) group that he was completely unaware that there were concerns
about the long delays in implementation of the August 2016 Health Select Committee recommendations about surgical mesh
implants.
He asked for yet another letter to be sent outlining the issues.
“We have written to the Minister numerous times about this and repeatedly asked to meet with him” said MDU spokesperson
Mrs Charlotte Korte, one of the two original petitioners seeking a Government inquiry. Coleman told the group to deal
with Medsafe.
“The whole point of the petition was to draw attention to this global health crisis and to prevent future injuries to
patients” added Korte. “Yet here we are three years later and the number of patients claiming to ACC for compensation
for mesh related treatment injuries has increased by a whopping 74%. It’s totally unacceptable. It’s happened on this
Minister’s watch”.
“We hope this time Dr Coleman gets back to us with definitive actions and more acceptable and specific timelines” added
Ms Patricia Sullivan, also a member of the group. “The letter has been sent”.
The group want this dialogue with the Minister to be completely open and transparent. The letter includes detail the
promises that Jonathan Coleman made last month.
The letter was published openly on the group’s website this morning. Read it here: www.meshdownunder.co.nz