Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the data available on patients who have been prescribed sodium valproate,; and if he will make an assessment of the potential benefits of a register of patients who have been prescribed medicines with a known and significant risk.

The Medicines and Pregnancy Registry uses National Health Service dispensing data from community pharmacies in England and NHS maternity services to identify female patients who have received anti-epileptic medication, including sodium valproate and those who have received a prescription in a month that they were pregnant. While this dispensing data accurately reflects the medicines received, it relates to patients in England and may not include patients prescribed sodium valproate in hospitals or private healthcare or those who do not present to NHS maternity services.

All medicines may potentially cause side effects and some of these side effects could be classified as significant risks when used as prescribed, in specific patient populations or in certain circumstances such as during pregnancy. While registries can be helpful when investigating or monitoring specific aspects of prescribed medicines, the integration of records within existing healthcare systems may be more effective at monitoring patient outcomes.