'Drug scandal that damaged 20,000 babies'

[Patient Safety Learning]

 

An investigation by The Sunday Times has found that the drug sodium valproate is still being handed out to women in plain packets with the information leaflets missing, or with stickers over the warnings.

Sodium valproate, has been given to women with epilepsy for decades without proper warnings, and has caused autism, learning difficulties and physical deformities in up to 20,000 babies in Britain.

The government is refusing to offer any compensation to those affected by sodium valproate, despite an independent review by Baroness Cumberlege concluding in 2020 that families should be given financial redress.

Read the Twitter thread from Rebecca Bromley who has been working with families who have suffered:

 

[Ferdekalen]

It's essential for medication to be distributed with accurate information and warnings so that people can make informed decisions about their health