In May the Sunday Post reported a mesh victim who hopes an American surgeon can save her from an awful operation was disappointed that Nicola Sturgeon could only offer her more words and no action.

Claire Daisley is due to have her bowel and bladder removed in eight weeks – but has asked health bosses to send her to the United States where a specialist surgeon believes he could remove her mesh and save her organs.

Read more of the Sunday Post report here., external

Labour MSP Monica Lennon says the cabinet secretary hopes Dr Veronikis can visit by the Autumn, but he offered to come as far back as November in 2018.

A flurry of communication now is a little disappointing, because Autumn is no use to Claire Daisley from Greenock, whose set to lose her bowel and her bladder next month due to her mesh implant, says Ms Lennon.

The Labour MSP calls for Ms Daisley to be given surgery by Dr Veronikis before it is too late and for it to be funded by the Scottish government.

Image source, bbc

Ms Freeman says Ms Lennon's response is parsimonious in its nature, which is disappointing.

There are important steps to go through and due diligence must be done on any expert we wish to bring here, the health secretary says.

She says the CMO has had discussions with Ms Daisley and adds she will not discuss her individual case in the chamber.

The minister says everything she pledged to do at a meeting with the women suffering from mesh implants she has now done.

Tory MSP Miles Briggs says there is cross-party support for the development of a clinical service.

What training budgets will be made available to ensure time and capacity for training by Dr Veronikis, he asks.

Ms Freeman says discussions are ongoing with Dr Veronikis, with officials to visit him in the US to consider what arrangements need to put in place.

After this has taken place I will have a better understanding of what is needed for training and what additional funding might be available, she explains.

Ms Freeman says Dr Veronikis will provide treatment and training, and adds she wants this to be a valued partnership.

This is subject to agreement and regulatory approval and she reminds the chamber this is a reserved matter, so she has written to the GMC and the UK government.

The GMC has responded with a pledge to act quickly says the health secretary, whereas she has yet to receive a reply from Westminster.

"I hope Dr Veronikis can visit by the Autumn," says the minister.

She highlights a new complex case unit will be established in NHS Scotland to ensure women who have experienced complications from mesh procedures receive the best care and treatment.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman says she can see no prospect of the halt on implants being lifted.

She says she has raised concerns with the MHRA about its approvals process.

MHRA says it stands ready to work with the Scottish health service to help us support our patients, she adds.

A key part of the mesh complications working group's efforts will be ensure good care which is why Dr Dionysios K. Veronikis' offer to come work here is welcome.

Dr Veronikis is an obstetrician-gynaecologist based in Missouri, USA, with an expertise in mesh removal.

Ms Freeman says: "I have asked for Dr Veronikis to come to Scotland as soon as possible."

Image source, bbc

Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman is seeking to bring a specialist surgeon from the US to help people with problems caused by vaginal mesh implants.

Dr Dionysios K. Veronikis, an obstetrician-gynaecologist based in Missouri, USA, had offered to come to Scotland and operate on women who have suffered severe pain since the implants.

Ms Freeman has also announced a new complex case unit will be established in NHS Scotland to ensure women who have experienced complications from mesh procedures receive the best care and treatment.

The use of mesh in Scotland was suspended in all but "exceptional circumstances" in 2014 after it emerged some women had suffered painful side-effects but the procedure has still been used hundreds of times since.

• Mesh expert failed to declare £100,000 funding
• 'Systematic' failings in mesh implants review
• 'Immediate' halt on use of mesh implants in Scotland

Image source, bbc

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman gives an update on transvaginal mesh implants.

Image source, bbc

Green MSP Andy Wightman says the working group had to grapple with some quite complicated questions and did serious work on the vital area of maintaining tenements.

The Green MSP cites the stress of organising repairs including threats of violence from his neighbours, which led to him, and five others, selling up.

Mr WIghtman says tenements have not had proper maintenance over the years.

Scotland has allowed a major part of its housing stock to fall into disrepair, he says, due to not adopting measures that have been in place for many years in some European countries.

Tenements account for 584,000 properties in Scotland, 24% of Scotland's total housing stock.

The recommendations from the Working Group on Maintenance of Tenement Scheme Property, external include:

• Mandatory regular inspections by a qualified architect or chartered building surveyor
• Establishing compulsory owners' associations
• Setting up building reserve funds to pay for necessary repairs

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson says tenement homes are critical to our country which is why maintenance is so important.

Housing underpins wellbeing he says.

Mr Johnson adds investment will benefit future generations as well as current homeowners.

He calls for a legal recognition of the fact that tenements essentially lead to there being co-owners of a single building.

Image source, GOOGL

In January a report from the working group warned that the condition of many Scottish tenements was on a "cliff-edge".

The group made a number of recommendations on how to address the problem.

These include inspections every five years and creating a communal tenement "pension" fund for future repairs.

The interim report also calls for the compulsory establishment of owners' associations.

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Tory MSP Graham Simpson says MSPs have all heard of cases of buildings in need of repair and the statistics paint a pretty grim picture.

Mr Simpson says in Edinburgh alone there are 20 incidents of falling masonry every month.

He says the cross-party working group has published its final report, calling for tenement properties to be inspected every five years.

The group also called for the compulsory establishment of owners' associations, with compulsory factoring as a possible fall back position, adds Mr Simpson.

The Tory MSP says the final recommendation related to a building reserve fund being set up, adding a lot of people won't like these controversial proposals, but action must be taken.

Image source, Getty Images

An MSP has said "very little" was done to improve the maintenance of tenement buildings after falling masonry killed a woman in Edinburgh in 2000.

Graham Simpson cited the death of Christine Foster as he published a "challenging" set of proposals drawn up by a Scottish Parliament committee.

It wants mandatory five-yearly inspection reports on all tenements.

Mr Simpson also revealed that, in Edinburgh alone, there are 20 incidents of falling masonry every month.

The Central Scotland MSP has been the convener of the parliamentary working group, which was set up in March 2018.

Read more here

Image source, PA

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart welcomes the final report from the working group on tenement maintenance, external published earlier this month and confirms he will publish a substantive response in the autumn.

Regular maintenance is not only good practice but it is also more cost-effective than letting small defects grow and turn into ruinous repairs, he says.

Mr Stewart says we will need 80% of the homes we currently live in the still be in use by 2050.

Owners of tenements must be prepared to work together, he says, but accepts it might be difficult to enforce build reserve funds.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish government will now lead a debate on the working group on tenement maintenance.

Today's announcment has been welcomed by campaigners:

John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, said: "This new payment is an absolute game changer in the fight to end child poverty."

Once introduced in 2021, the benefit will first be paid to families with younger children under six, a decision welcomed by Citizens Advice Scotland.

The organisation's social justice spokeswoman Mhoraig Green said: "The new Scottish Child Payment is a step in the right direction and its fast-tracked introduction for children under six is a testament to the hard work of campaigners across Scotland.

"What is essential is that families who are entitled to this benefit claim it, and everything else that they are entitled to."

• £10 Scottish Child Payment benefit per week to low-income families for each child under six will be introduced in 2021
• The benefit will be be fully rolled out to children under 16 by 2022
• Eligibility comes from qualifiying benefits including Universal Credit, Jobseekers Allowance and Child Tax Credits
• Government estimate that 410,000 children could be eligible for the income supplement.
• Costs for 2021 are £70m and for the full roll out in 2022 £180m

Image source, David Martin

Former Labour MEP David Martin will be one of the new co-conveners of the Citizens' Assembly, the Scottish government has confirmed.

The other appointment will be a women to ensure gender balance.

In a statement to MSPs, Constitution Secretary Mike Russell said the Assembly would be transparent and completely independent from government.

Scottish Labour and the Greens welcomed the announcement, but the Tories said they will have "nothing to do with it" and the Lib Dems have already refused to take part in cross-party discussions.