Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of recording all patients to whom pharmaceutical products with a higher risk of side effects, such as birth defects, have been prescribed; and if he will take steps to create such a centralised record of such patients.

The Department has made no assessment and has no plans to create such a centralised record.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency monitors suspected adverse reactions through its Yellow Card Scheme. All approved medicines or medical devices clearly label potential side effects through the patient information leaflet provided with the medicine.

A Medicines and Pregnancy Registry has been set up, containing data on every woman in England taking National Health Service prescribed valproate and all other antiepileptics taken during pregnancy. This registry identifies if they are pregnant and accessing NHS care for that pregnancy.