THE MESH SCANDAL Kath Sansom @KathSansom used to write the news. Now she is the news. In 2015, three weeks after a mesh operation left her in constant pain, she started a campaign called Sling The Mesh @meshcampaign. It now has nearly 13k women in it. A survey of 653 mesh injured women, run by her campaign, found something shocking. Nearly half had thought about suicide. One in 20 had tried to take their own life. One in 20 self harm regularly. Almost 8 out of 10 struggle with depression or anxiety. One woman named in press coverage, Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, died by suicide after years of what her partner described as unbearable pain from bowel mesh complications. Another woman, Eileen, 75, from Loanhead in Midlothian, became the first person in the UK to have mesh listed as a cause of death on her death certificate. 9 out of 10 women in the survey were never told they were getting a permanent piece of plastic put inside them. 98 percent were never told there were other options. This is what the government has known since 2018, when mesh surgery was finally paused. It is what Baroness Cumberlege's review confirmed in 2020. It is what the Patient Safety Commissioner @PSCommissioner repeated in February 2024, recommending 20000 pounds to start for each injured woman, with more to follow, for as many as 25000 women. That recommendation is now 2 years and 5 months old. The government scheme built to deliver it has paid out to nobody. Some women have been paid, but not by the state. In August 2024, 140 women in England won payouts from the companies that made the mesh, Johnson and Johnson, Bard, and Boston Scientific. In 2026, 25 more women in Wales got compensation after officials admitted their consent was never properly taken. That is roughly 165 women. Out of up to 25k. Since the government made its promise, Britain has changed Prime Minister 3 times. Rishi Sunak was in office when it was made. Keir Starmer took a letter women hand delivered to Downing Street in March 2026 asking for a date. Then he resigned. Andy Burnham is now in charge, with Yvette Cooper as his new Health Secretary. Women are living with pain so bad that some of them do not want to be alive. The system that caused it changes leaders faster than it changes anything for them. If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, Samaritans are free to call any time on 116 123. Sources: @meshcampaign @KathSansom @PSCommissioner @BBCNews @HSJnews