Health Consumers Queensland continues to support consumer co-design in the development of a statewide, multidisciplinary service for mesh affected Queensland women. If you haven’t already, please sign up to Queensland Health’s email contact list, to be advised on how to access the clinic when it opens:
In addition to this work, we are co-hosting a national forum with our equivalent organisations around the country, with funding assistance from several state health departments including Queensland Health.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS – A NATIONAL FORUM ON THE IMPACT OF MESH IMPLANTS
With the conclusion of the Senate Inquiry into transvaginal mesh and the subsequent response by the Federal Government, many among the general public assume that the tragedy of the mesh crisis has been addressed and future injury averted.
Thousands of mesh injured women would disagree and the emerging crisis of injury related to hernia mesh suggests the worst may still be ahead. The National Forum on Mesh Implants is the opportunity for those who have been affected by mesh to have their collective voices heard and their concerns finally addressed.
The National Mesh Implant Forum is our opportunity to address the unfinished business of mesh. (more…)
WE ASKED, YOU SAID, WE DID: MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER
August 2017
The final Steering Committee meeting held on 19 July marked the end of this stage of the implementation of the Barrett Commission of Inquiry Recommendations. Health Consumers Queensland has also provided a final written report as well as a short video final report.
Health Consumers Queensland has been honoured to support the codesign and Ministerial announcement today of the location of the new statewide Queensland Pelvic Mesh Service based out of the Gold Coast, to open in the first half of 2019.
See below for a statement from our CEO Melissa Fox.
Today is a momentous and emotional day for mesh affected women in Queensland and their advocates.
Thank you to the individual woman who originally brought this issue to our organisation’s attention. Today was for you.
Thank you to the women who bravely shared with us and Queensland Health your most intimate and awful experiences of being let down by our health system. What you so clearly articulated as your health needs, have formed the basis of the model of service that will be delivered.
That so many of you hadn’t been listened to and taken care of by the health professionals that you trusted, is an indictment on how we treat mothers in our society. Hopefully today is another step towards your healing and you receiving the care that you need to live your best lives possible.
To the women who have guided the development of this service, thank you for your patience and ongoing commitment.
Thank you to the Clinical Excellence Queensland in Queensland Health and the Health Minister Steven Miles MP. You have listened with compassion, respect, at times horror at the experiences the women have shared and most of all a solid commitment to Queensland meeting the health needs of these women. (more…)
Twelve Youth Mental Health Forums were held across the state, with representatives from Health Consumers Qld, Queensland Health and the Department of Education presenting on the Barrett Commission of Inquiry Implementation Project. You can stay up to date with the outcomes from the forums at the Queensland Health website www.health.qld.gov.au/improvement/youthmentalhealth
The final Implementation Steering Committee meeting will be held on 19 July and further information on the next phase of this work will be made available as soon as possible. With the exciting announcement in the Queensland Budget of a $70M allocation to the new facility, 2 Step Up/
Step Down facilities and 2 Day Programs, there is still much work to be done.
Final reports on each aspect of the implementation will be made available also on the Queensland Health website.
This letter has been submitted to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care by each state’s Pelvic Mesh Support Groups and the Health Consumer organisations in each State and Territory across Australia, asking the Commission to comprehensively address the recommendations tabled in the Senate Report (see below post).
Excerpt:
This letter is a joint appeal from each state’s Pelvic Mesh Support Groups and the current Health Consumer organisations in each State and Territory across Australia. On behalf of all mesh injured women of Australia, and those who may in the future access treatment for stress urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse we write to you, the Australia Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare to comprehensively address the recommendations tabled in the above report. We need and value your support in addressing the urgent call for action to prioritise the management of this medical disaster that is crippling Australian women and their families.
Women from the Support Groups are struggling with lifelong complications, physical and mental ill health, pain, suffering, financial burden and significant loss of life as they knew it. They feel that there needs to be a dramatic cultural change in treatment, reflected from the top and ensured by ACSQHC.
There is a significant lack of trust in the medical treatment these women have received; they have been dismissed, ignored and gaslighted into believing their ailments were “all in our heads”. As Senator Rachel Siewert, Chair of the Senate Inquiry, stated in her report release speech: They have suffered for so long without being heard. They have not been believed. In some cases, they’ve been belittled. They have been ignored. Well, for no longer shall they be ignored.
Appropriate pathways for lifelong care are now required. A trauma based model is needed for treatment moving forward; together with empowerment for all women at every stage of their journey.
Expression of Interest – Carer representative for the Mental Health (MH) Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Quality Oversight Group arising from the Barrett Commission of Inquiry Recommendation 2.
Closing date: Monday 15 January 2017
Queensland Health’s Community Services Funding Branch is seeking an additional carer representative for the Mental Health Non-Government Organisation Quality Oversight Group.
About the committee and project
The Commission of Inquiry Report into the closure of the Barrett Adolescent Centre was provided to the Queensland Premier on 24 June 2016. The Commission made six recommendations, including Recommendation 2: That Queensland Health’s Service Agreements with Non-Government Organisations be carefully drawn to ensure they deal explicitly and sufficiently with matters such as:
minimum standards/or staff employed to work in a particular facility;
which entity may prescribe and monitor compliance with those standards;
which entity may prescribe the extent and quality of the services to be provided by the NGO;
which entity may monitor the quality of service delivery and give ongoing directions about it;
termination of the service agreement, whether by effluxion of time, for breach of contract, because of policy changes, or any other reason.
The Queensland Government accepted all six recommendations in its response to the Commission of Inquiry Report. In accepting Recommendation 2, Queensland Government agreed to ‘review the Service Agreement arrangements for all Non-Government Organisations providing health services. This review, Queensland Health Review of NGO Service Agreement Report was endorsed by the Barrett Commission of Inquiry Steering Committee on 6 July 2017.
The report made six recommendations which will be progressively adopted into Queensland Health’s contracting arrangements with NGOs. The recommendations focus on operational enhancements and quality standards across all funding streams to ensure efficient, effective and safe services for health consumers.
The Mental Health NGO Quality Oversight Group has been formed to provide guidance and advice throughout the implementation of the Queensland Health NGO quality framework in relation to funded mental health services.
Women who have had mesh surgically implanted to treat vaginal prolapse or urinary incontinence were invited to respond to a survey from Australia’s state, territory and national peak consumer groups, including Health Consumers Queensland. The experiences reported will be vital to inform a joint Senate submission being drafted by our organizations.
(Note that mesh can also be referred to as tape, a sling, or TVT)
This survey is now closed. Health Issues Centre would like to thank all of the women who have bravely shared their experiences of pelvic mesh implants. We will continue working on behalf of all mesh injured women. You can follow updates on http://www.facebook.com/UnderstandingPelvicMesh .
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) organised a series of consumer consultation forums with the assistance of state health consumer councils in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney from January to March 2017. The intent was to provide consumers with the opportunity to provide information about their experience of transvaginal mesh treatment to inform the development of patient decision support resources.
Thirty-one women participated in the forums, either in person or by telephone. All but one of the women who participated in the forums had experienced complications following transvaginal mesh treatment, and the majority of participants had been treated for stress urinary incontinence.
The common themes and issues raised by women who attended the forums are summarised on this page.
