A group of women who were left in agony by gynaecological operations performed by an NHS surgeon have won a more than half a million pound payout.
Derek Klazinga made the series of disastrous blunders while working for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales between 2002 and 2016.
The clinician gave several women an implant known as vaginal mesh, which supports pelvic tissue in cases of incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse.
But its use, which was paused in the UK in 2018 over safety concerns and is now only used as a last resort, subjected the patients to years of pain they still deal with now.
Some 25 women have been compensated, with seven of them receiving a total of £600,000 since 2015, as per an investigation by Welsh-language broadcaster S4C.
One of them is Kerry Watson, 40, from Kinmel Bay, Conwy, who received a payout in April last year, after her surgery for bladder prolapse in 2014, when she was 29.
The mother-of-three now takes around 120 tablets a week to manage her ongoing pain and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2024.
‘I didn’t want to be here anymore. I couldn’t deal with the pain, I couldn’t deal with the thoughts I had,’ she said.
Derek Klazinga (pictured) made the series of disastrous blunders while working for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales between 2002 and 2016
One of the woman who has been compensated is Kerry Watson (pictured), 40, from Kinmel Bay, Conwy, who received a payout in April last year, after her surgery for bladder prolapse in 2014, when she was 29
‘I was nobody, just a bag of pain. Ten long years of that. Ten long years.’
Ms Watson had two types of mesh implanted to support her organs.
‘When I woke up the next morning, I had this awful pain in my back, on the left side,’ she said. ‘The pain was off the scale. I’ve never felt anything like it.’
She continued: ‘I was leaking when I exerted myself or tried to play with the boys or pick them up – I’ve got three boys.’
In 2023, Ms Watson came across a law firm’s website mentioning legal cases against the the Betsi Cadwaladr health board related to surgery performed by Mr Klazinga.
She then launched her own case against the board, in which a gynaecological expert told her she did not even need the surgery in the first place.
The expert claimed a simpler, less invasive treatment – such as injections, or a removable, silicone device called a pessary – would have eased her symptoms.
The health board denied injections would have worked for her – but admitted other non-surgical treatments, like a pessary, should have been discussed with her.
It also confessed the process of obtaining her consent for the surgery fell below the standard expected of a reasonable, competent surgeon.
‘I wasn’t told about the risks involved with mesh. I didn’t receive the correct information before the surgery,’ she said.
Ms Watson received her payout on the basis she was not offered an alternative to the procedure known as tension-free vaginal tape obdurator (TVT-O) mesh surgery.
The judgement also took into account that she was not fully informed of the risks of such an operation.
‘I was initially offered a low amount, so I declined their first offer,’ she said. ‘I ended up accepting £110,000 and then fees are taken off that’
After paying legal fees, Ms Watson was left with £97,200, she said: ‘Is that going to cover all those nights I’ll be up crying in pain? That doesn’t touch the sides, really.’
She was one of seven women affected who bravely spoke to S4C TV programme Y Byd ar Bedwar, meaning the World on Four in Welsh.
Several others also said they did not consent to the procedure – and most described chronic pain which has had a profound impact on their lives.
Betsi Cadwaladr health board declined to provide the total figure for payouts received by all 25 of the patients, information it said it holds, citing data protection concerns.
But it confirmed it has paid more than £5million in compensation in the past decade after errors in gynaecological treatment.
Solicitor Michael Strain, who has represented one of the 25 women in a claim against the board, described the situation as a ‘scandal’ and called for better transparency.
The mother-of-three (pictured) now takes around 120 tablets a week to manage her ongoing pain and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 2024
He said it is highly unusual both for one clinician to be linked to so many claims and for the board not to inform patients this was the case.
Klazinga took himself off the medical register in 2021 before a scheduled General Medical Council (GMC) fitness to practise hearing, which therefore never took place.
In a statement, he said: ‘Firstly, I wish to express my sincerest sympathy that these ladies have had to endure such physical and psychological pain caused by, what we now know to be, defective medical products used in their treatments.
‘These products were identified as potentially harmful and temporarily banned in 2018.
‘This was followed in 2020 by a National Enquiry: The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, chaired by Baroness Julia Cumberlege.
‘I ceased practising medicine ten years ago, more than two years before the ban.
‘Before retiring in 2016, I always practised with the patient at the centre of my care, while abiding by the first principle of medicine: “First, do no harm”.
‘I acted with the utmost professionalism and integrity.
‘I was, of course, completely unaware of the defective nature of the products, which wasn’t subsequently exposed until two years after I retired.’
It is unknown which manufacturer made the mesh Mr Klazinga used.
But some firms have paid out over complications arising from mesh surgery without admitting liability.
In several cases, the health board acknowledged patients were not fully informed about alternative treatment options or the potential risks and side effects of procedures, including those involving TVT and TVT-O vaginal mesh, before surgery took place.
Dr Clara Day, BCUHB’s Executive Medical Director, said: ‘Firstly, I want to sincerely apologise to all women who have suffered complications through the insertion of vaginal mesh after treatment within our Health Board.
‘Across the UK, we know a number of claims have been settled and I want to acknowledge the stress and pain this has caused to a small proportion of women in our region who underwent those procedures.
‘Since I became BCUHB’s Executive Medical Director in September last year, I have been made aware of some historic claims in relation to one clinician who left the Health Board in 2016.
‘Via the legal system, we have acknowledged physical harm to some patients who underwent procedures and we have found record keeping and consent had not been completed to the required standard in a number of cases.
‘In all cases we have followed the correct legal processes and sought to finalise those claims as quickly as possible, in the best interests of those patients – and within the rules and requirements covering such claims.
‘Every claim has resulted in learning for us, which has been scrutinised by experts outside of our Health Board.’
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been contacted for comment.
The full investigation can be seen on Y Byd ar Bedwar: Dan Gyllell Klazinga on BBC iPlayer. English subtitles are available.