Summary
This report was commissioned to evaluate the project ‘Hearing and responding to the stories of survivors of surgical mesh: Ngā korero a ngā mōrehu – he urupare’, which used a restorative approach to listen to the stories of people adversely affected by surgical mesh.
Ngā korero a ngā mōrehu – he urupare was conceptualised in terms of the individuals and relationships affected and helped us to listen and understand the lived experiences of New Zealanders affected by surgical mesh harm in order to inform reparative action and prevent future harm.
The aims of this evaluation were to ascertain whether good practice was demonstrated throughout the project; to understand people’s experiences of the process; to find out whether the project objectives were met; and to assess whether the approach was transferable to other health contexts.
We recognise that the release of this evaluation does not signal the end of our work following Ngā korero a ngā mōrehu – he urupare.
The Ministry is committed to continuing to support those affected by surgical mesh, and to use the learnings of this work to prevent future harm.
If there are any comments regarding the release of this report, please direct these to [email protected]. Comments will be anonymised and shared with the Surgical Mesh Roundtable to inform the Ministry’s ongoing work programme to prevent future harm by surgical mesh.