Letters: Surgical mesh, students, Middlemore Hospital, and Roe v Wade

Merrissa Haa has suffered horrific outcomes after having surgical mesh implanted. Photo / Andrew Warner

Medical mesh
Thank you for your excellent reporting on surgical mesh. I am one of those injured by the surgeon mentioned in Emma Russell's report and like so many other women, my life has been seriously affected by the injuries I sustained. Fortunately, they haven't been quite as serious as the two brave women who have shared their experiences with the NZ Herald.
Because it's about our pelvic area, most women don't feel comfortable sharing their stories, but there are many of us who have suffered from injuries caused by surgeons. Quick operation, quick money.
More needs to be done to correct this injustice. Keep up the pressure for that, please NZ Herald.
Denise Bugden, Paekākāriki.

Merits of mesh
The Herald's articles on surgical mesh address its misuse in gynaecology; for the sake of balance people ought to know that mesh remains a perfectly reasonable surgical material when used appropriately.
A stainless steel screw is fine for fixing your fractured ankle but you wouldn't want it in your eye.
Mesh is tough, so it has been widely used in hernia repair over the past 30 years. Modern hernia surgery is, without any exaggeration, 10 times less likely to fail than in the past.
It reinforces tissue like steel does in a concrete slab, not a desired characteristic in flexible tissues – hence the problem.
Mesh doesn't rot, by the way – any more than anything else made of plastic does.
I'd personally have no hesitation in having a hernia repair with mesh in the future.
Like any technology, it can be used or misused.
Dr Chris Hawke, urologist.

Paid study
Robert MacCulloch's opinion piece (NZ Herald, June 30) raised readers' awareness of the plight of young people in recent times because of Covid and its impact.
He reports that "school attendance is declining particularly in deprived areas". Could the Government consider paying young people from age of 15 to go to school? Many have had to leave to get jobs to help their parents who lost theirs. Going to school should be considered their job.
That's better value than having them on a benefit and, long term, society would gain economically and socially with having high attendance at our secondary schools.
Roger Hall, Takapuna.

Working well
In recent times there has been much correspondence about our broken health system but my personal experience is different. This year, I and two other members of my family have spent time in Middlemore Hospital. The treatment we received was outstanding. At all times we were treated with respect and compassion.
In the case of my mother, to arrive there with a broken hip and to be operated on within 24 hours has had the amazing outcome that, at 94 years old, she is now walking again albeit with assistance.
The incredibly diverse workforce worked together co-operatively from cleaners to nurses to doctors. There was never any sign of tension or stress and the patients were always their focus.
Middlemore is doing a great job but if the changes mean more resourcing for it then this is welcomed as they will be able to serve their community even better.
Gil Laurenson, Eastern Beach.

Not celebrating
I think Mark McCluskey (NZ Herald, July 1) has underestimated the ongoing effects of the Roe v Wade repeal and misunderstood the reactions to it. Sure, it's okay to hold a contrary opinion, but it was the gloating expressed that upset so many people, together with the removal of rights women have had for half a century.
Throughout history, there have been "backstreet abortions" with sometimes terrible consequences for women of botched operations. The fear of seeking medical aid after an illegal procedure went wrong caused many deaths, often from sepsis. After the passing of Roe v Wade, American women had access to professional – and sterile – procedures. The death rate decreased.
Now, in roughly half of American states they will no longer have access to legal abortions, disproportionately affecting the poor and less privileged. Wealthy women will be able to have a "holiday" abroad, visit "relatives" in Canada or travel to another state. Not so the poor. Backstreet abortions will increase, and so will deaths.
Abortion may be a sin ("evil") in McCluskey's eyes, though the private sins of others are hardly his business; it certainly should not be a crime.
Pam Sims, Mellons Bay.

Keeping character
Auckland councillors voted to shrink the size of protected "Special Character Areas" (SCA) in older suburbs from around 21,000 homes to 15,000. The meeting was an 11-hour-long meeting and the vote went 10-11.
It seems people genuinely believe an apartment or 3-storey medium density house in a central Auckland suburb will be cheap and allow them to buy there. There are also those who think apartments and 3-storey medium density houses in special character areas will be a way to solve homelessness.
It also will not help parking on our roads or cut down on emissions etc. What is the point of building high-density housing in areas surrounded by older homes?
Could new homes in such areas be built in the same style as existing homes so that you do not lose the character of an area? Could townhouses be built with a front like the existing homes and have off-road parking so that residents can charge their EV?
Our developers and planners and those who represent us on council, for all that they want to save the planet, have not yet embraced the environment and made it easy for people cut down on emissions.
John Riddell, Massey.

Seabed solutions
MP Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (NZ Herald, June 29) provided her view of seabed mining.
She refers to concerns expressed by other Pacific island states but doesn't mention Nauru or the Cook Islands, both of whom see seabed mining as a possible way to diversify their economies and improve prosperity. These countries think the environmental effects of seabed mining can be minimised by regulation and effective management.
Impossible Mining is a company developing technologies that would enable nodules to be plucked from the seafloor without affecting the other seabed material. The "sludge" that TTR proposed to return to the seafloor is not industrial waste but the sediments that were originally on the seafloor.
Decarbonising global energy systems will require significantly more minerals than are used today. The production and processing of many of these minerals are dominated by a few countries, some with poor environmental records. Every day we read about the disruption of global supply chains by the pandemic or political actions. Properly managed, seabed mining offers an opportunity to mitigate some of these risks and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Ray Wood, Hastings.

Road improvement
The completion of the Waikato expressway now linking Cambridge to Auckland is more than just a time-saver as Greg Cave of Sunnyvale (NZ Herald, July 4) suggests. It is, on the whole, a far safer road than what has gone before. It clears Hamilton Cambridge and Huntly of traffic congestion, and will ensure these towns become more than just traffic corridors. Property prices will improve and the development of these regions will be worth billions to their respective economies.
The fact the road can be rated at 110km/h just shows how safe it is: road fatalities that are a financial and emotional cost of their own are now almost zero. There is not much that is negative about this project of national significance.
John Ford, Taradale.

Ours as well
Cameron Norrie's progress at Wimbledon (through to the quarter-finals at the time of writing) is making three nations happy: Born in Johannesburg, educated at Macleans College in Auckland, and now representing England, with each nation claiming his as their own.
May I suggest that we share him equally, just as the Pacific Nations share in the successes of the All Blacks to which they so obviously contribute?
Chris Marnewick, Bucklands Beach.

Short & sweet

On medicine
Why are we so desperately short of doctors and nurses? Some blame education going soft over the last 30 years, until participating has become more important than passing. Surely not. Jim Carlyle, Te Atatū Peninsula.

Given the global shortage of doctors and other medical practitioners, might the redevelopment of Hutt Hospital include a new medical school? Norm Murray, Browns Bay.

On abortion
If it was not for National MPs supporting the abortion decriminalising bill, it would not have passed, as nine Labour and seven NZ First MPs voted against it. Grant Robertson should look at his own party first. Doug Stuart, Coromandel.

On trade
To leave out meat and dairy from any trade agreement is a slap in the face to our farmers, who produce at a cheaper price than any other country and manage to ship it around the world and presumably still make a profit. Brent Marshall, Whangaparāoa.

On Russia
Why is the Russian ambassador still here in New Zealand and ours over there? C G Lock, Gisborne.

On sentences
"Blake Hollins-Apiata jailed for assaulting police officer" (NZH, July 1). Welcome to the New Zealand supermarket justice system where everybody gets a daily discount. P. Harlen, Mt Maunganui.

The Premium Debate

How much longer will inflation pain last?

When interest rates go up, productivity drops. Businesses cannot afford to invest and grow. They try to force the issue by reducing staff to make things work. The small plumbing business might drop a staff member and go back to a one-man band. When this happens, time and time again, unemployment rockets. Garry R.

The worry is that Grant Robertson will continue to spend like a jilted lover finding the current partner has been unfaithful, and the Reserve Bank will overdo the interest rate rises. The problem is these people are not on the ground and sensing the mood of the nation, but use outdated figures and stubborn self-belief to project the future. The result will be a hard landing. Mark I.

Robertson's current budget has spending at the same amount as Bill English in his last few years as Finance Minister (as a percentage of GDP, approx 31 per cent). The problem seems to be people's use of rhetoric, not facts. Evan B.

But I thought we had nine years of neglect? That the previous National Government didn't spend anywhere near enough money on infrastructure? What were they spending all that money on? Keryn S.

That's true, the Key government had a pretty strong austerity focus . . . as the numbers show when looking at its lack of investment in police, health, education, or housing. They did build a few roads though. Evan B.

Until inflation turns negative, absolute prices will continue to rise. Inflation measures the rate of change of prices. Anyone who thinks this inflation surge will only be transitory might be well advised to review what happened between 1970 and 1980, when inflation "got away". Ann W.