Mum's 20-year fight for epilepsy drug compensation

"Who will look after our children when we're no longer here? At the moment that's nobody."

Catherine Cox, from Keyworth in Nottinghamshire, was one of thousands of women who took the epilepsy drug, sodium valproate, while pregnant, something which is now advised against.

Her son Matthew, now 23, was born with a range of conditions, including autism, ADHD, epilepsy and several learning disabilities.

At the age of 18 months, he was diagnosed with foetal valproate syndrome, indicating the medication his mother took was the cause of his problems. Mrs Cox has been campaigning for compensation ever since.

It is thought thousands of children in the UK have been left with disabilities caused by valproate since the 1970s.

Before undergoing fertility treatment, Mrs Cox was advised it was "fine" to continue taking valproate.

"To then find out that the medication that you have taken in good faith has caused the problems your child will carry for the whole of their life is an awful thing," she told the BBC.

Mrs Cox told the BBC she had grown weary of a lack of action from successive governments.

In February 2024, a report by the Patient Safety Commissioner, Henrietta Hughes, said there was a "clear" and "urgent" need to compensate those harmed by valproate, both financially and otherwise.

More than a year has since passed, and the government is still working on a response.

Mrs Cox said: "We have pulled various governments over time kicking and screaming to this point where they have acknowledged that the difficulties for up to 20,000 children were caused by this drug.

"As we go on, what we need is something to make up for their loss of potential."

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Source: BBC News, 17 February 2025

Related reading on the hub:

• A year on from The Hughes Report: Urgent action needed on redress
• Primodos, mesh and sodium valproate: Recommendations and the UK Government’s response (Sharon Hartles)