A DARTMOOR woman is leading a local campaign for ‘an immediate investigation’ into the impact of mesh implants after she was unable to sit and left in constant pain after the surgery at Torbay Hospital.

Mum-of-three Ceri Baker, 43, says the controversial vaginal mesh implant, inserted in 2017 to help with continence issues after childbirth, left her unable to do any of the physical activities and hobbies she’d enjoyed with her children and husband.

The Action for Mesh Injured Patients campaigners – all of whom have suffered seriously since having implants inserted – presented a petition to officials at Torbay Hospital to mark International Mesh Awareness Day.

They’re calling on Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to gather information from all patients who have suffered since having the implant and offer them support and appropriate care to aid their ‘mental and physical health and well-being’.

Ceri said after a nerve reaction in January of this year left her unable to walk for longer than half an hour, she decided to fund the removal of her mesh implant privately, at a personal cost of £13,000. However, Ceri and other patients say having to take such drastic measures is unacceptable, and they are demanding the health trust does more for its patients.

Ceri said: ‘Our petition is calling on the trust to look into the care and health of patients who have suffered. A clear picture needs to be identified and communicated.

‘Through our social support and campaign groups, it has come to our attention there are many women who’ve suffered injury after surgery at Torbay Hospital and their injuries simply haven’t been addressed or recognised.

‘We’re calling for a full investigation to ensure the true health outcomes for all women who underwent mesh surgery at Torbay Hospital since its introduction is understood.’

The implants have caused worldwide controversy. They were designed to be permanent and, during the first weeks after surgery, become embedded in the surrounding tissue to provide better pelvic support.

Ceri is currently taking legal action against Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. She claims she wasn’t made aware of the risks by her surgeon and was shocked to see a letter two years later which claimed she had been informed of the success rate and reoperation risks, together with the risk of pelvic organ damage, chronic pain, dyspareunia (difficult or painful sexual intercourse), mesh erosion and rejection.

She said she was facing a wait of over a year on the NHS for removal. ‘I paid to have the mesh removed privately in order to save myself as, if I waited a year, it’s very likely I would have been unable to work or lead anywhere near a normal life,’ she added.

‘I was already struggling to do so and having to spend many days lying on the sofa working from home, as I couldn’t sit on a chair for more than 20 minutes comfortably.’

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust stopped using the meshes indefinitely in October 2017, seven months after Ceri’s operation.

Last July, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England agreed to immediately suspend their use after a medical devices safety review, led by Baroness Cumberlege, heard from many women about the ‘life-changing’ and ‘life-threatening injuries’ they had suffered.

However, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) last month issued new guidelines paving the way for the implants to be used again, with the review still to be completed.

Ceri added: ‘I hope women don’t see the new guidance and think all concerns have been dismissed.

‘The NHS still isn’t responding quickly to the plight of these desperately ill women or coming forward to find them and give them a clear plan of intervention with real care and time plans for removal, and further corrective surgery.

‘Instead, desperately ill women all over the UK are being left to fight this whole battle for themselves.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘NICE’s new guidelines and patient decision aids on managing urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse will help women make more informed choices about their treatment.

‘The use of vaginal mesh was paused to ensure that patients receive a high-quality and consistent service.