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Systemic Advocacy

Posted on December 19, 2017

Systemic Advocacy at Health Consumers’ Council WA

Summary
Systemic advocacy addresses healthcare issues that affect whole communities, not just individuals. HCCWA leads this work in WA by influencing policy, partnering with health services, and ensuring consumer voices shape systemic change.

Recent highlights

What Is Systemic Advocacy?

Systemic advocacy addresses issues that affect many people, not just one individual.
It focuses on:

  • Policy reform

  • Service design and delivery

  • Consumer representation in decision-making

This work helps to create a fairer, safer, and more responsive healthcare system.

Why It Matters

  • Equity: Ensures healthcare is accessible for all, regardless of location, background, or income.

  • Consumer voice: Embeds lived experience in health policy and planning.

  • Accountability: Holds health services and decision-makers to public standards.

  • Long-term change: Reduces the need for repeated individual advocacy by fixing root causes.

How We Do It

HCCWA works across multiple areas of systemic advocacy:

  • Policy submissions and consultations: We provide evidence and consumer perspectives to WA Health, Parliament, and national reviews.

  • Partnerships: We collaborate with health services, researchers, and community organisations to embed consumer input.

  • Campaigns: We highlight urgent issues such as hospital parking costs, dental affordability, and access to urgent care.

  • Consumer representatives: We train and support people to bring lived experience to committees and decision-making forums.

Recent Systemic Advocacy Projects

  • Emergency access reform

  • Sustainable Health Review

  • Guardianship Act Review submission

  • Ambulance services and emergency care

  • Digital health and patient records

  • Palliative care, pregnancy, and maternity services

(See Policy Submissions & Partnerships for details)

Your Role in Systemic Advocacy

Consumers, carers, and community members are central to this work.
You can:

FAQs

1. What is the difference between individual and systemic advocacy?
Individual advocacy supports one person with a specific issue. Systemic advocacy focuses on broader changes that affect many people.

2. How does HCCWA influence government decisions?
We provide submissions, attend consultations, and support consumer representatives to sit at decision-making tables.

3. How can I get involved in systemic advocacy?
You can join our network, respond to consultations, or become a consumer representative through HCCWA.

Call to Action

If you want to help shape fairer healthcare in WA, get involved with systemic advocacy today.

 

 

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The definition of systemic advocacy is:

Organisations, groups, or individuals working for long-term social and legislative change to make sure legislation, policies and practices equitably support the rights, needs and interests of all people. Advocacy is done through acting, speaking, listening, and writing to promote, protect and defend the rights of a person or community.

The systemic advocacy work we do aims to:

  • Introduce, support, and influence positive long-term changes to the WA Health System; changes that support and respond to the voices and needs of the community, including legislative, policy and practice environments throughout public and private sectors
  • Ensure that the rights and interests of all people living in Western Australia are listened to and upheld, especially diverse and marginalised people and communities, including First Nations people, people in rural and remote areas, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) people, children and youth, people serving time in the justice system and members of the LGBTQIA+ community
  • Promote and partner in improving opportunities and outcomes involving living-expertise and collaboration
  • Ensure the issues and experiences of individuals and communities inform the focus of our work
  • Share information and opportunities for community involvement
  • Represent the Consumer Voice to WA Health

Our systemic advocacy work aims to support and further HCC’s vision of equitable, person-centered, quality healthcare for all those living in Western Australia, and aims to model the values of respect, kindness, equity, working together, integrity and empowerment.

If you have any questions about Systemic Advocacy in the Health System, or about any of our listed involvements, please email info@hconc.org.au 

 

Advocating through Committees

 

Archived Systemic Advocacy work

Staying Safe at Home – Patient’s Own Medicines

Posted on December 10, 2017

This is a guest blog from researcher Brock Delfonte.

Managing your medicines at home can be complicated. It is important for your health that you always take the right medicines at the right time and know why you take each one. It is also just as complicated managing your medicines when you are admitted to hospital. Keeping track of all your medicines is vital but can be difficult as there are a number of different names, types and forms that medicines can come in, including:

· tablets, capsules and liquids
· patches, creams and ointments
· drops and sprays for eyes, nose, ears and mouth
· inhalers and puffers
· injections and implants
· pessaries and suppositories.

Most medicines are usually prescribed or provided by a doctor, nurse or pharmacist. Herbal, complementary or “over-the-counter” products like vitamins, nutritional supplements, and natural remedies are also considered medicines, as is anything you may obtain at supermarkets, health food stores or over the Internet.

Bringing in your medicines to hospital is one way you can help hospital staff get your medicines right. Bringing all of your medicines, including anything you keep in places like the fridge or by the bedside, lets hospital staff know what you’re taking and makes sure that you will be able to continue taking them if needed. There are a number of other benefits from bringing in your own medicines to hospital:

· Hospital staff can use some of the information found on the medicine labels to help them, including the details of any doctors or nurses who prescribed medicines for you and the pharmacies they came from
· Having the medicines with you can help you remember exactly how you take them, and help you remember any other medicines you may take
· Having your medicines with you can allow hospital staff to better help you should any of your usual medicines change in any way or are stopped during your hospital stay.

Remember to store your medicines correctly at home, and have them easy to access should you or your family or carers need to collect them to bring in to hospital. Bringing in all your medicines to hospital each time and wherever possible helps hospital staff provide you with the best quality care they can.

Brock Delfante MSHP
BCom BSc MPharm PhD (c)

Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care

Posted on August 25, 2017

“Studies show 77% of cancer patients who incorporate complementary approaches believe it improves their quality of life. 73% state it makes them feel hopeful. 71% say it helps to boost their immune system” (Mao et. al. 2011). In Western Australia Solaris Cancer Care leads the way in providing complementary therapies in cancer care.

Solaris Cancer Care

In July the Cancer Council WA held the ‘Integrative Oncology Symposium: Pathways to Wellness and Survivorship’. The symposium explored new ways to improve symptom control, alleviate patient distress and reduce suffering. The speakers were health professionals and academics who provided their insights into alternative therapies, lessons learnt in the treatment of cancer and patient experience, this included Clinical Professor David Joske founder of Solaris Cancer Care (2001).

“Although excellent resources have long been available to treat cancer medically, it became clear to me that the emotional and supportive care needs of cancer patients and their families were often overlooked.

So Solaris Cancer Care was born – a drop in centre in Sir Charles where cancer patients could receive free support and advice and supervised complementary integrated therapies that would support their mainstream treatment.

It was a radical idea at the time, and still is in some respect. But the idea has continued to grow and over the last 15 years we have opened three additional clinics in Albany, Bunbury and St John of God,” he says (Solaris Cancer Care 2016).

Since its inception Solaris has provided cancer patients with support services and access to complementary integrative therapies. It all started with a comment from a patient, Roy in 1998. Roy said that when he mentioned to one of his treating physicians that he was seeking complementary therapy, they had shut him down. Clinical Prof. Joske said he realised he “needed to get on board with complementary therapy.” By not accepting complementary therapy it had created a barrier between him and his patients so “we weren’t quite rowing in the same direction.”

Solaris Cancer Care Now

Now 100 people per week drop into Solaris, with no medical misadventure. Patients who access the services have a reduction in symptom distress and improved quality of life. Clinical Prof. Joske said during his time treating cancer patients the most valuable lessons he has learnt are from his patients:

  • The power of words and permission to die – What we say to people (and when) matters!
  • A role for complementary medicine – Accept how people cope with cancer.
  • The promise of new biology – cancer is a chronic illness
  • Survivorship

Clinical Prof. Joske closed his presentation with, as Hippocrates said, “Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always”. For more information about the complementary therapies offered at Solaris Cancer Care go to: solaris care

Lucy Palermo | Marketing & Communications Coordinator | Health Consumers’ Council (WA)

References:

Mao, J, Palmer, C, Healy, K, Desai, K & Amsterdam, J 2011, ‘Complementary and alternative medicine use among cancer survivors: a population-based study’, Journal of Cancer Survivorship: Research and practice, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 8-17.

Solaris Cancer Care 2017, About Us page, 2016, Solaris Cancer Care. Available from: https://solariscare.org.au/about-us/dr-david-joske/. [28 August 2017]

Self-Advocacy Resources

Posted on August 13, 2017

This page provides key resources and links to websites to help you navigate your way around the health system, and provide feedback to our health services.

It’s always OK to ask!

How to prepare yourself for an appointment or hospital admission:

  1. Make sure you know Your Healthcare Rights
  2. Support yourself to give informed consent – check this web page or listen to this podcast
  3. What should you ask? Question Builder tool – prepare for an appointment
  4. What should you ask? Seven Questions to ask your doctor before you get any test or treatment (available here in 10 languages)
  5. Check out Pathology Tests Explained to find out about pathology tests – what they mean, what to expect, should you have the test? The Health Consumers Council is working with Lab Tests Online and Curtin University to improve the health literacy landscape and help health consumers better understand their pathology results.  More information about the project can be found here.  If you would like to review the online platform and undertake a survey of your experience, you can do that here.
  6. You can download a one page Procedure Specific Information Sheet – if there is one for your procedure – make sure you ask your doctor for the full, four page version when you have your appointment
  7. Stay safe in hospital and receiving healthcare Top Tips to Safe Healthcare (available in 15 languages)
  8. Stay safe before, during and after a hospital admission – see the suite of Patient First materials – See also the Easy English version of Going to Hospital developed for English Language students
  9. Stay safe with your medications – see My Medicines and Me questionnaire for mental health medications
  10. Do you need Private Health Insurance? You can access unbiased free information about private health insurance at www.privatehealth.gov.au This site is provided by the Australian Government. You can learn about health insurance, see frequently asked questions, and compare policies side by side based on your individual or family circumstances.

Guardianship and Administration

How to give feedback

As well as seeking advocacy assistance you may want to provide feedback when service has been poor, insensitive or incompetent. This can be a powerful way of improving the health system for yourself and others.

You may also find these resources useful:

  1. How to make a complaint directly to a hospital
  2. How to make a complaint to a GP or clinic
  3. Click here to download a Freedom of Information Request Letter (Template)
  4. Click here for the Freedom of Information Contact List

Open Disclosure

When something has gone seriously wrong in hospital, you can expect to have an open and honest conversation. See here for more information.

Care Opinion

The Care Opinion website allows you to post your story, positive or negative, anonymously. The health service is identified but you can remain anonymous. This story is published to the website and you, and everyone else, can track its progress from your story being read, responded to, and a change made if necessary. The feedback is read by the highest level of health service management, so it is one of the most effective ways to make your voice count. If you need any assistance in posting your story, you can contact Care Opinion by phone on 1300 662 996

Mind and Body March 2017 – Ways for consumers to have a voice

Posted on August 13, 2017

In this episode, former staff member Stephanie Newell spoke to Mind and Body Host Cynthia Nixon about  the various ways people can be involved in improving the health system through Health Consumers’ Council (HCC). This included:

  • Reading Group, attending information sessions – e.g. Diversity Dialogues Forums and Focus Groups
  • What being a Consumer Representative means
  • Advocacy – Individual & Systemic
  • What are Consumer Advisory Councils and their country equivalent District Health Advisory Councils?
  • Forthcoming Patient Experience Week events featuring international patient experience community of practice, the Beryl Institute’s CEO Jason Wolf as Keynote speaker
  • Upcoming Orientation to HCC information session

Cultural Diversity

Posted on July 24, 2017

Why do we care about cultural diversity engagement?

At Health Consumers’ Council we believe in inclusion and the best health outcomes for all. WA continues to experience higher than national average population growth through migration and over half of West Australians have one or more parent born overseas. We speak 240 languages across a vast state. Language barriers as well as practices which are not culturally sensitive or inclusive can lead to poor uptake of services and poor health outcomes.

We recognise that the voice of people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) backgrounds is often left unheard, for example, WA’s Patient Experience in Health Survey specifically excludes people requiring an interpreter. We also have significant concerns about the poor uptake of interpreters in health services and how this impacts on people being able to provide informed consent as patients. Research in the area is also very limited.

What do we do about it?

Health Consumers’ Council is committed to supporting services to assist with effective engagement and care provision to people from diverse cultures. We have developed a range of forums and workshops to assist both health service providers and community members. We are also establishing a panel of CaLD community members who might wish to share lived experience or community perspective in order to improve health services. Click on the links below to find out more.

Information about WA Health System

CaLD Community Workshops and Events

Health Service Provider Workshops and Events

CaLD Community Panel 

 

 

 

Cancer Patient Empowerment

Posted on July 17, 2017

It can be difficult to process the diagnosis of cancer. You are losing control of your body and although you do have choices during the treatment process they are limited. You can’t do the things you used to and you have to accept a new kind of ‘normal’. During this process, it can be difficult to feel empowered as a patient and as a person.

The Path to Patient Empowerment

The path to empowerment includes ‘Surrendering, but only certain elements of your life. It’s not a black and white situation’ says Associate Professor Caroline Bulsara, Notre Dame University. In 2012 Associate Professor Bulsara developed the ‘Patient Empowerment Scale’, for a study to measuring cancer patient empowerment. Using the questionnaire (comprised of 15 scaled questions) she surveyed 210 cancer patients. Through Associate Professor Bulsara’s research into quantifying empowerment she identified these keys to regaining control:

  • Acknowledging what I can and cannot control.
  • Familiarising oneself with the treatment regimen and side effects of treatment.
  • Establish boundaries with family and friends.
  • Learning to recognise what resources and information are and are not relevant.
  • Accepting and adapting to changed lifestyle. (2017, Associate Professor Caroline Bulsara, Notre Dame University)

How Providers Can Support Patient Empowerment

Associate Professor Bulsara identified that patients felt more empowered when all communication was shared with them and well documented. They felt more in control of their condition and had reduced feelings of anxiety. Patients spoke of a sense of empowerment due to their ownership of a paper journal, they called the Patient Held Record (PHR).

However, according to Associate Professor Bulsara more work needs to be done to explore the stages of empowerment during and after active treatment.

You can read more about her research via this link: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/cco/article/view/23078

Health Consumers’ Council and Patient Empowerment

It is important to remember that it is your body they are treating. You reap the benefits but also the side effects of that treatment and you may have to live with those side effects for years to come.

Doctors must have your informed consent before you start on any new treatment regime. According to Cordasco, ‘In health care, informed consent refers to the process whereby the patient and the health care practitioner engage in a dialogue about a proposed medical treatment’s nature, consequences, harms, benefits, risks, and alternatives. Informed consent is a fundamental principle of health care’ (Cordasco 2013). This means you have the right to say no and seek a second opinion.

If you are finding it difficult to speak up Health Consumers’ Council can help. We can help you to understand and support your healthcare rights. We can help you find and access health services and assist you in providing feedback about your health experience. This free service is available to anyone in WA. For more information regarding our services and tools to support you click here.

Lucy Palermo | Marketing & Communications Coordinator| Health Consumers’ Council WA

References:

Bulsara, C & Styles, I 2013, ‘Development of a Cancer Related Patient Empowerment Scale Using the Polytomous Rasch Measurement Model’, Cancer and Clinical Oncology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 87-102. Available from: Cancer and Clinical Oncology. [13 July 2017]

Cordasco, K 2013, ‘Obtaining Informed Consent from Patients: Brief Update Review’, Making Health Care Safer II: An Updated Critical Analysis of the Evidence for Patient Safety Practices, no. 211. Available from: National Center for Biotechnology Information. [14 July 2017]

Celebrating people who make a difference…

Posted on May 16, 2017

Have you ever encountered a person who absolutely stands out in the way they approach the work they do? There is a noticeable difference in attitude and energy between those who are truly engaged in their role and those who are not… and how difficult must it be to face up every day to something you are not enjoying and you don’t believe in?

This year I have been working with someone who I have never met face to face. We communicate via email and phone and have glimpsed each other once via video conferencing. Why haven’t we met? Because this wonderful person lives in Katanning. Her name is Karen and she has been incredible in her enthusiasm and energy around engaging with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Briefly, Katanning is home to people from many different countries, some quite newly arrived while others have become long term residents. It is known as a town that supports cultural diversity and which has been highly successful in doing so. Karen works for the Department of Health in two roles, as a Health Promotion Officer – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) and as a Project Officer, Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus.

In her role/s Karen has encouraged and supported people from CaLD backgrounds to engage with the health sector with the result that there is now a Multicultural DHAC (District Health Advisory Council) in the Great Southern Region. I suspect this may be the first of its kind in WA and is a fantastic achievement that needs to be celebrated and acknowledged.

Beyond that I would like to say, ‘thank you’ to Karen for the level of interest she has shown in and her support for the work that I do and to acknowledge those things. Also for her willingness to be involved in HCC’s Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Research Alliance (RAHERA) and her participation in other activities this Program undertakes.

You are really appreciated Karen, thank you. We really value your support.

Footnote: On May 11, I travelled to Katanning and ran information sessions and workshops, also the following day. There I met Karen and she is as dynamic as I suspected!

Click here to read about the work Health Consumers’ Council did with Katanning Senior High School.

Louise Ford | Consumer and Community Engagement Manager

Image Source: https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/11/ways-to-thank-customers.html

How are you improving the Patient Experience? Posters

Posted on May 3, 2017

In 2017 Health Consumers’ Council (WA) invited Hospitals, Health Services & NGO’s to share with other health services, health professionals and consumers how they provide positive patient experiences. They had to answer three simple questions:

  1. Share an initiative that ensures what matters to your patients/consumers is leading to improved patient experience.
  2. What difference has this made?
  3. Share one lesson you have learnt.

The posters were displayed at the Patient Experience Week Community Conversation on April 27, 2017.

If you would like to submit your initiative you can find the forms on this page.

The following services provided information to create the posters below (Click on the links to download a PDF version of the posters):

Bethesda Hospital

Face to Face Bedside Handover Initiative

Bethesda Health Care_Making Consumer Feedback Meaningful

Real Time, Face to Face Consumer Feedback Initiative

 

Cancer Council WA

Cancer Information Hubs Initiative

 

Western Australia Department of Health | Disability Health Network

Disability Health Network

Hospital Stay Guidelines For Hospitals & Disability Service Organisations

 

Western Australia Department of Health | Epidemiology Branch

Patient Evaluation of Health Services (PEHS) Program

Western Australia Department of Health | Patient Safety & Clinical Quality

Patient First Project

Engagement Framework Project

 

East Metropolitan Health Service | Armadale Health Service

Building Collaborative Care with Community Services Project

 

North Metropolitan Health Service

NMHS Disability Liaison Project

 

Osborne Park Hospital | Antepartum Care

Peripartum Satisfaction Tool

 

Princess Margaret Hospital for Children & Curtin University

Calling For Help Program

 

WA Country Health Service | Primary Health & Engagement

Patient Opinion Australia Tool

 

WA Primary Health Alliance | Aboriginal Health

Country Links: Aboriginal Pathways to Care

 

WA Primary Health Alliance | Community Engagement

Patient Opinion Australia Tool

International Mesh Awareness Day – 1st May

Posted on April 30, 2017

Monday 1st May is International Mesh Awareness Day, the start of Mesh Awareness month.  It highlights the complications suffered by women who have had mesh implants to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.

You may have seen a recent episode on The Project which highlighted the little known reality that when a urogynecological mesh implant goes wrong, it can go badly wrong, with life-changing effects for the women affected.  It has taken the recent media activity on the topic for some women to recognise the symptoms in themselves. And despite what Waleed Ally stated in the final moments of the Project episode on the topic, complications can occur quite some time after implanting, and only partial removal options exist for women.

 

The use of mesh is now the subject of a federal Senate Inquiry, which is taking submissions until the 31st May 2017. The Inquiry’s title “Number of women in Australia who have had transvaginal mesh implants and related matters” highlights that we simply don’t know how many women have had these implants, and how many of them have suffered complications.

 

Health Issues Centre Victoria hosted a Facebook Page “Understanding pelvic mesh implants and impacts on women in Australia”. This page is part of a united response by health consumers councils across Australia to ensure women’s voices are at the heart of the Senate Inquiry Submission. It links to an anonymous survey where women and their families are able to provide feedback to inform the joint Submission. The page will be active until the Inquiry Submission deadline of 31st May 2017.

 

Pictured: Caz Chisholm holding both her awards

 

Here in WA, on Thursday 27th April, the Health Consumers’ Council announced our Health Consumer Excellence Awards. The winner of the Health Consumer Award, and the Rosemary Caithness Award to acknowledge outstanding service to health consumers was the same person – Caz Chisholm. Caz is one of the founders of the Australian Pelvic Mesh Support Group, a Facebook page which has grown from 39 members two years ago to just under 600 members in the last week, after the airing of the Project episode. She has spent significant time and energy raising awareness for women about the issue and providing essential peer support. She was also directly responsible for ensuring that the Senate Inquiry was successfully advocated for by Senator Hinch in the first place.

 

For women and families affected by pelvic mesh, we urge you to have your say to ensure the consumer voice is central to the Submission. Check the Having A Say section lower down on this page for the links to the different ways to provide your feedback.

 

Please also note that the health consumers councils across Australia have developed a Consumer Information Sheet which appears below and is also available as a PDF. Please contact us on info@hconc.org.au or 9221 3422 if you have any comments or concerns.

 

Consumer information

For women who have had, or are considering having surgery to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse

If you have been diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, the likelihood is that you will be offered surgery once non-surgical options such as physiotherapy have been exhausted.

 

Surgery for these two conditions are usually involves a mesh insertion or implant. It might be called tape or a sling. It is all the same from a consumer perspective and these products are collectively known as mesh. The Therapeutic Goods Advisory Website has an updated list of complications associated with surgery using mesh. https://www.tga.gov.au/alert/urogynaecological-surgical-mesh-complications

 

Mesh implants have been offered to women since the late 1990s. The procedure is considered to be only partially reversible, and some women have travelled to America at their own expense to have mesh removed.

 

Before you consent to any surgical procedure, it is important to ask all the questions you need so you understand what you are consenting to. The Choosing Wisely campaign has created these questions to help you get started. http://www.choosingwisely.org.au/resources/consumers/5-questions-to-ask-your-doctor

 

1.      Do I really need this test or procedure?

Tests may help you and your doctor or other healthcare provider determine the problem and the procedures that may help to treat it.

2.      What are the risks?

Will there be side effects? What are the chances of getting results that aren’t accurate? Could that lead to more testing or another procedure?

3.      Are there simpler, safer options?

Sometimes all you need to do is make lifestyle changes, such as eating healthier foods or exercising more. Another option to ask your doctor about is native tissue repair.

4.      What happens if I don’t do anything?

Ask if your condition might get worse — or better — if you don’t have the test or procedure right away.

Stress urinary incontinence is not a life-threatening condition so consider carefully before undergoing any surgery. Do not consider surgery until all non-surgical options have been exhausted.

5.      What are the costs?

Costs can be financial, emotional or a cost of your time. Where there is a cost to the community, is the cost reasonable or is there a cheaper alternative?

 

What help can I access?

  • There is a Facebook group called the Australian Pelvic Mesh Support Group which can connect you with women who have had these procedures.
  • Shine Lawyers is one of the firms that is currently undertaking class actions in relation to mesh
  • Take this information sheet to your trusted health provider to discuss your current or future options

 

Having A Say

 

Complications associated with use of Pelvic Mesh

These are listed on Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website as follows: https://www.tga.gov.au/alert/urogynaecological-surgical-mesh-complications

  • punctures or lacerations of vessels, nerves, structures or organs, including the bladder, urethra or bowel (these may require surgical repair)
  • transitory local irritation at the wound site
  • a ‘foreign body response’ (wound breakdown, extrusion, erosion, exposure, fistula formation and/or inflammation)
  • mesh extrusion, exposure, or erosion into the vagina or other structures or organs
  • as with all foreign bodies, mesh may potentiate an existing infection
  • over-correction (too much tension applied to the tape) may cause temporary or permanent lower urinary tract obstruction
  • acute and/or chronic pain
  • voiding dysfunction
  • pain during intercourse
  • neuromuscular problems including acute and/or chronic pain in the groin, thigh, leg, pelvic and/or abdominal area
  • recurrence of incontinence
  • bleeding including haemorrhage, or haematoma
  • seroma
  • urge incontinence
  • urinary frequency
  • urinary retention
  • adhesion formation
  • atypical vaginal discharge
  • exposed mesh may cause pain or discomfort to the patient’s partner during intercourse
  • mesh migration
  • allergic reaction
  • abscess
  • swelling around the wound site
  • recurrent prolapse
  • contracture
  • scarring
  • excessive contraction or shrinkage of the tissue surrounding the mesh
  • vaginal scarring, tightening and/or shortening
  • constipation/defecation dysfunction
  • granulation tissue formation.

 

Author: Pip Brennan, Executive Director of the Health Consumers’ Council. Consumer Member on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Services Reference Committee.