Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many women aged 15-45 years were prescribed sodium valproate in May 2022 and (b) how many women aged 15-45 years who has been prescribed sodium valproate have had their prescription changed to another anti-epileptic drug for every month between May and November 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This information is not held in the format requested. The Medicines and Pregnancy Registry contains data on every woman in England receiving National Health Service-prescribed sodium valproate and all other antiepileptics taken during pregnancy and whether the individual is pregnant. The Registry was last updated in September 2022 and includes data from April 2018 to March 2022.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood of 23 September 2022 on sodium valproate.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member. A reply will be sent as soon as possible. Additionally, my office has reached out to arrange a meeting on sodium valproate.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce a redress scheme for those affected by sodium valproate.
Answered by James Morris
The Government response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, published in July 2021, did not accept the recommendation to establish separate redress schemes for the three interventions addressed by the Review. We are considering this issue and will update Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review published 8 July 2020, if his Department will respond to the recommendations on sodium (a) sodium valproate, (b) MESH and (c) primidos.
Answered by James Morris
The Government published its response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review on 21 July 2021. We committed to publish an implementation update on the accepted recommendations, which will be made available as soon as possible.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing redress schemes for people adversely affected by (a) sodium valproate, (b) Primodos and (c) surgical mesh.
Answered by James Morris
The Government’s response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review did not accept the recommendation to establish separate redress schemes for these interventions. We are considering this issue and will update Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of healthcare professionals who are not complying with the requirements of the valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by James Morris
No specific estimate has been made, as the Valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme does not measure the compliance of healthcare professionals.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 effectiveness of the valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme in reducing the number of children born with birth defects and persistent developmental disorders.
Answered by James Morris
No specific assessment has been made. The Valproate Pregnancy Prevention Programme does not collect data on children exposed to and affected by sodium valproate.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had any discussions with HM Treasury on a care plan for people affected by the use of sodium valproate in pregnancy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government published its response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review in July 2021, which did not accept the recommendation to establish separate redress schemes for three interventions, including sodium valproate. We have interpreted the hon. Member’s question on care plans to refer to redress.
We are considering this issue and will update Parliament in due course. We will engage with HM Treasury during this process.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to have a further meeting with INFACT.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 16 May 2022, I met with the founders of the Independent Fetal Anti-Convulsant Trust (INFACT) to discuss their experiences with sodium valproate and looking after children diagnosed with Fetal Valproate Syndrome.
We are currently considering the issues raised and will update Parliament in due course. Following this update, we will look to arrange a further meeting with INFACT.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Welsh Government on the number of women in Wales of childbearing age who are prescribed sodium valproate.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have had no specific discussions with the Welsh Government on this issue, as this is a devolved matter.