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News Article
Epilepsy drug that harms babies may damage their children too
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An epilepsy drug that caused disabilities in thousands of babies after being prescribed to pregnant women could be more dangerous than previously thought. Sodium valproate could be triggering genetic changes that mean disabilities are being passed on to second and even third generations, according to the UK’s medicines regulator. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has also raised concerns that the drug can affect male sperm and fertility, and may be linked to miscarriages and stillbirths. Ministers are already under pressure after it emerged in April that valproate was still being prescribed to women without the legally required warnings. Six babies a month are being born after having been exposed to the drug, the MHRA has said. It can cause deformities, autism and learning disabilities. Cat Smith, the Labour chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary group on sodium valproate, said: “This transgenerational risk is very concerning. There have been rumours that this was a possibility, but I had never heard it was accepted until last week by the MHRA." “The harm from sodium valproate was caused by successive failures of regulators and governments, and this news means it could be an order of magnitude worse than we first thought. It underlines the need for the Treasury to step up to their responsibilities around financial redress to those families.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: Sunday Times, 19 June 2022 -
Content ArticleMidwives and other healthcare professionals are an integral part of many bereaved parents’ birth story and can play an important role in caring for parents when their baby dies. In this blog, Clare Worgan, Head of Training and Education at the charity Sands, talks about the importance of bereavement care to parents, and how training helps healthcare professionals to better provide this care. She outlines five principles of bereavement care and talks about why Sands is calling for bereavement care training to be provided to all staff who come into contact with bereaved parents.
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News ArticleA woman who suffered six miscarriages lost her seventh baby after doctors delayed her caesarean section, a report has found. Chyril Hutchinson was admitted to hospital in February 2021 with high blood pressure when she was 37 weeks pregnant with her daughter Ceniyah Cienna Carter, and was told by doctors at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust she would need a caesarean. But the procedure was delayed as a result of staffing pressures and because Ms Hutchinson’s blood pressure stabilised. She was then told she would have to wait another two weeks for it to be carried out. Given her previous miscarriages, Ms Hutchinson said she pleaded for her baby to be delivered earlier, but her concerns were “dismissed” and she was sent home. Days later, a scan revealed that her baby had died. A trust investigation into Ms Hutchinson’s care found that staff had failed to properly monitor the growth of her baby, which could have indicated the need for an earlier delivery. The internal report, seen by The Independent, also revealed that on the day Ms Hutchinson was told she should have a casaerean, the hospital was six midwives short and the department was busy - a situation the trust said “places additional pressures and possible overload on medical staff”. However, the report concluded that staffing levels did not affect Ms Hutchinson’s care, and it did not state whether the wider failings had led directly to her child being stillborn. Read full story Source: The Independent, 5 June 2022
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Content ArticleThis is an Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons on 18 May 2022, which calls on the Government to implement the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review in full, including paying compensation to people disabled by sodium valproate.
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News Article
Woman stored baby’s remains in fridge after London hospital refused them
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A London hospital has launched an investigation after a woman whose baby died in the womb had to deliver her son at home due to lack of beds and keep his remains in her fridge when A&E staff said they could not store them safely. Laura Brody and her partner, Lawrence, said they were “tipped into hell” after being sent home by university hospital Lewisham to await a bed when told their baby no longer had a heartbeat but no beds were immediately available to give birth, the BBC reported. Two days later, after waking up in severe pain, Brody, who was four months into her pregnancy, gave birth in agony on the toilet in their bathroom. “And it was then,” she told the broadcaster, “I saw it was a boy”. The couple, who wanted investigative tests to be carried out at a later time, dialled 999 but were told it was not an emergency. They wrapped their baby’s remains in a wet cloth, placed him in a Tupperware box, and went to A&E where they were told to wait in the general waiting room, they said. She was eventually taken into a bay and told she would require surgery to remove the placenta. But, with the waiting room hot and stuffy and staff refusing to store the remains or even look inside the Tupperware box, they decided as it got to midnight they had no option but for her partner to take their baby’s remains home. Brody said the whole experience “felt so grotesque”. “When things go wrong with pregnancy there are not the systems in place to help you, even with all the staff and their experts – and they are working really hard – the process is so flawed that it just felt like we had been tipped into hell,” she told Radio 4’s Today programme. The case is said to have raised wider concerns among campaigners who argue that miscarriage care needs to be properly prioritised within hospitals including A&E. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 May 2022 -
News ArticleDonna Ockenden, the midwife who investigated the Shopshire maternity scandal, has been appointed to lead a review into failings in Nottingham following a dogged campaign by families. The current review will be wound up by 10 June after concerns from NHS England and families that it is not fit for purpose. It was commissioned after revelations from The Independent and Channel Four News that dozens of babies had died or been brain-damaged following care at Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trust. In a letter to families on Thursday, NHS England chief operating officer David Sloman said: “I want to begin by apologising for the distress caused by the delay in our announcing a new chair and to take this opportunity to update you on how the work to replace the existing Review has been developing as we have taken on board various views that you have shared with us.” “After careful consideration and in light of the concerns from some families, our own concerns, and those of stakeholders including in the wider NHS that the current Review is not fit for purpose, we have taken the decision to ask the current Review team to conclude all of their work by Friday 10 June.” “We will be asking the new national Review team to begin afresh, drawing a line under the work undertaken to date by the current local Review team, and we are using this opportunity to communicate that to you clearly.” Ms Ockenden said: “Having a baby is one of the most important times for a family and when women and their babies come into contact with NHS maternity services they should receive the very best and safest care." “I am delighted to have been asked by Sir David Sloman to take up the role of Chair of this Review and will be engaging with families shortly as my first priority. I look forward to working with and listening to families and staff, and working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to deliver a Review and recommendations that lead to real change and safer care for women, babies and families in Nottingham as soon as possible.” Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 May 2022
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Content ArticleSir David Sloman, Chief Operating Officer NHS England and NHS Improvement, has sent a letter to the families involved in the Nottingham Maternity Inquiry announcing that Donna Ockenden will taking over the Inquiry. A copy of the letter is below and attached.
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News ArticleThe former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has claimed the government snubbed bereaved families’ requests for Donna Ockenden to chair a review into maternity services in Nottingham as she is “too independent”. Hundreds of families involved in the Nottingham maternity scandal review have called for Ms Ockenden, chair of the Shrewsbury maternity scandal inquiry, to take over the investigation. NHS England had attempted to appoint a former healthcare leader, Julie Dent to chair the review. However, following pressure from families not to accept, Ms Dent announced shortly after she would be declining the role. Following the families’ calls for Ms Ockenden, Mr Hunt, chair of the government’s health committee, said on Wednesday: “I can’t see any other barriers to appointing her but sounds like she still won’t be. For some reason the Department of Health appears to think she is too independent – which is of course precisely why Nottingham families do have confidence in her. It feels like another own goal.” Families involved in the Nottingham maternity review, which will now cover almost 600 cases, have said they’ve been left in limbo by NHS England after if informed them of an interim report which has been completed by the review team. This follows several letters from families to health secretary Sajid Javid raising concerns over the review and calls for it to be overhauled. Speaking with The Independent, a couple whose son died under the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trist said: “The key to successful long term change is developing a relationship with harmed families, built on trust, sensitivity and understanding. The current review does not command this. The relationship is untenable.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 26 May 2022
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Content ArticleSystemic racism in maternity care is an urgent human rights issue. For too long, evidence and narratives about why racial inequities in maternal outcomes persist have focussed on Black and Brown bodies being the problem – ‘defective’, ‘other’, a risk to be managed. Birthrights’ year-long inquiry into racial injustice has heard testimony from women, birthing people, healthcare professionals and lawyers outlining how systemic racism within maternity care – from individual interactions and workforce culture through to curriculums and policies – can have a deep and devastating impact on basic rights in childbirth. This jeopardises Black and Brown women and birthing people’s safety, dignity, choice, autonomy, and equality. The inquiry’s report, Systemic Racism, Not Broken Bodies, uncovers the stories behind the statistics and demonstrates that it is racism, not broken bodies, that is at the root of many inequities in maternity outcomes and experiences.
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Content ArticleExtreme preterm birth, defined as birth before 28 weeks’ gestational age affects about two to five in every 1000 pregnancies, and varies slightly by country and by definitions used. Severe maternal morbidity, including sepsis and peripartum haemorrhage, affects around a quarter of mothers delivering at these gestations. For the babies, survival and morbidity rates vary, particularly by gestational age at delivery but also according to other risk factors (birth weight and sex, for example) and by country. In this BMJ clinical update, Morgan et al. focuses on high income countries and provide a broad overview of extreme preterm birth epidemiology, recent changes, and best practices in obstetric and neonatal management, including new treatments such as antenatal magnesium sulphate or changes in delivery management such as delayed cord clamping and placental transfusion. The authors cover short and long term medical, psychological, and experiential consequences for individuals born extremely preterm, their mothers and families, as well as preventive measures that may reduce the incidence of extreme preterm birth.
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News Article
Respiratory syncytial virus kills 100,000 under-fives every year
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Respiratory syncytial virus is killing 100,000 children under the age of five every year worldwide, new figures reveal as experts say the global easing of coronavirus restrictions is causing a surge in cases. RSV is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory infection in young children. It spreads easily via coughing and sneezing. There is no vaccine or specific treatment. RSV-attributable acute lower respiratory infections led to more than 100,000 deaths of children under five in 2019, according to figures published in the Lancet. Of those, more than 45,000 were under six months old, the first-of-its-kind study found. More children are likely to be affected by RSV in the future, experts believe, because masks and lockdowns have robbed children of natural immunity against a range of common viruses, including RSV. “RSV is the predominant cause of acute lower respiratory infection in young children and our updated estimates reveal that children six months and younger are particularly vulnerable, especially with cases surging as Covid-19 restrictions are easing around the world,” said the study’s co-author, Harish Nair of the University of Edinburgh. “The majority of the young children born in the last two years have never been exposed to RSV (and therefore have no immunity against this virus).” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 May 2022 -
Content ArticleThe Queen’s Speech was debated on Tuesday 17 May 2022. Copied below is Baroness Julia Cumberlege's excerpts on fulfilling the recommendations of the Cumberlege Report for a redress scheme.
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News Article
Senegal midwives convicted over mother's death
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Three Senegalese midwives involved in the death of a woman in labour have been found guilty of not assisting someone in danger. They received six-month suspended sentences, after Astou Sokhna died while reportedly begging for a Caesarean. Her unborn child also died. Three other midwives who were also on trial were not found guilty The case caused a national outcry with President Macky Sall ordering an investigation. Mrs Sokhna was in her 30s when she passed away at a hospital in the northern town of Louga. During her reported 20-hour labour ordeal, her pleas to doctors to carry out a Caesarean were ignored because it had not been planned in advance, local media reported. The hospital even threatened to send her away if she kept insisting on the procedure, according to the press reports. Her husband, Modou Mboup, who was in court, told the AFP news agency that bringing the case to light was necessary. "We highlighted something that all Senegalese deplore about their hospitals," "If we stand idly by, there could be other Astou Sokhnas. We have to stand up so that something like this doesn't happen again." Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 May 2022 -
News Article
Covid vaccines are ‘safe for pregnant women and cut stillbirth risk’, study says
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Covid-19 vaccines are safe for pregnant women to take and can even reduce the risk of stillbirths, according to a new study. Researchers at St George’s University of London and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists collated data from studies and trials involving over 115,000 vaccinated pregnant women. They found that pregnant women – who are more likely to become serious ill if they catch Covid-19 – are 15% less at risk of stillbirth if vaccinated. “We wanted to see if vaccination was safe or not for pregnant women,” said Asma Khalil, professor of obstetrics and maternal fetal medicine at London’s St George’s Hospital in London to The Guardian. “It is safe, but what’s surprising, and it’s a positive finding, is that there was a reduction in stillbirths.” “So far, most of the data on vaccines in pregnancy have been about protecting the pregnant woman herself from Covid. Now we have evidence that the vaccines protect the baby too,” she added. Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 May 2022 -
News Article
Families dismay at interim report plans despite review ‘chaos’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Families involved in a major review into maternity failings at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) have criticised the decision of the review team to press ahead with the publication of an interim report, despite serious concerns about its terms of reference and methodology. A “thematic review” into NUH was first announced last year after reports that dozens of babies died or were brain damaged after errors were made at the trust over the last decade. More than 460 families have since contacted the review team. The review has been overseen by NHS England and local commissioners, but, in April, the families called for an independent inquiry and asked for it to be carried out by Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife who chaired the high-profile review of Shropshire maternity services, which reported in March. Last month, NHSE chief operating officer Sir David Sloman wrote to families and said former strategic health authority chair Julie Dent would be brought in to chair the review. However, Ms Dent stepped down from the role weeks later, citing “personal reasons”. A new chair is yet to be appointed. Despite these uncertainties, families have been told by the review team that an interim report will be issued shortly. Gary Andrews, whose daughter Wynter died after being delivered by caesarean section at NUH’s Queens Medical Centre in 2019, said to issue an interim report “seems at odds with the current situation” and risked causing “significant distress” to families. He added: “We need government to get to grips with this review. Put the brakes on, ensure its structure and design and objectives are fully supported by families, before any interim report can be issued.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 19 May 2022 -
News Article
Plymouth maternity staff missed chances to save baby’s life, report finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A baby died after maternity staff repeatedly missed chances to intervene to save his life, an official investigation has found. Giles Cooper-Hall was just 16 hours old when he died after a catalogue of errors in the maternity care of his mother, Ruth Cooper-Hall, at Derriford hospital in Plymouth. A Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) report into the incident has exposed how inexperienced and overstretched staff failed to carry out proper checks, recognise there was an emergency or seek help from senior doctors until it was too late. It comes just weeks after the independent Ockenden report into more than 1,800 cases revealed serious failings in the maternity care provided at Shrewsbury and Telford hospital NHS Trust. It revealed how Ruth Cooper-Hall, then aged 37, was not personally seen by a consultant when she went into labour in October last year, despite recommendations made in the interim Ockenden report published in December 2020. The HSIB report also suggested Giles’ death could have been avoided if staff had known about the care plan for his mother’s labour. Instead, vital messages were not passed on, with the investigation finding this was likely to be because the staff responsible were “distracted” by other tasks. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 May 2022 -
News Article
Maternity scandal review chair resigns after pressure from families
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The newly appointed chair of a major review into poor maternity care in Nottingham has resigned following mounting pressure from families. Julie Dent was appointed by the NHS just two weeks ago to lead a review into hundreds of cases of alleged poor care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. On 7 April, more than 100 families called for Ms Dent to decline the offer after they had previously urged NHS England to appoint Donna Ockenden, who chaired the Shrewsbury and Telford maternity inquiry. In a letter to families on Wednesday, the chief operating officer of NHS England and NHS Improvement, David Sloman, said: “After careful consideration and further conversations with her family, Julie Dent has, for personal reasons, decided not to proceed as chair of the independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.” The letter said that NHS England and NHS Improvement would still have “oversight” of the independent review, and that a new review process was being established. Mr Sloman said he would write to families to inform them of the next stage in the review “shortly”. The Nottingham independent maternity review was launched in July last year, and since then more than 500 families have come forward, the majority in the last two months. Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 May 2022 -
News Article
Baby death mother 'was not seen by obstetrician'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A woman whose baby died after sustaining severe brain damage during labour was not seen by an obstetrician during her pregnancy, an inquest heard. It meant his mother Eileen McCarthy was unable to discuss her birthing options. Walter German was starved of oxygen during a long labour at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. Lawyers at Fieldfisher are pursuing a civil negligence case, claiming a C-section should have been offered due to a previous third-degree tear. Walter was born in December 2020. His life-support was turned off after nine days, as his injuries were unrecoverable. Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Sarah Clarke said Walter died as a result of his brain being starved of oxygen, likely due in part to an umbilical cord obstruction. She said: "Walter's mother was not seen by an obstetrician during her pregnancy and this led to her being unable to discuss birth options regarding delivery given her previous third degree tear. "Walter's mother was in the advanced stages of labour for a prolonged period of time with an indication for an earlier obstetric review being apparent." Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 May 2022 -
EventuntilThis free to attend webinar is being delivered by BAPM in partnership with the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) to support the launch of the revised framework for practice on newborn infants who suffer a sudden and unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC). Speakers will provide an overview of the new framework, cover ways to support good practice and reduce the risk of SUPC. This webinar is aimed at perinatal professionals who care for babies in hospital in the first week after birth as well as parents. Programme: The Parent Story Introduction to the new framework The SUPC Risk Reduction Pathway Investigating and Managing the Baby after a SUPC Questions Chair: Louise Page, Deputy Clinical Director of Maternity Investigation Programme, HSIB Speakers: Sarah Land, Charity Manager, PEEPS HIE Charity Julie-Clare Becher, Consultant Neonatologist, Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health, Edinburgh Esther Tylee, Infant Feeding Lead Midwife, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust Francesca Entwistle, Deputy Programme Director (Advocacy), UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Rachel Walsh, National Neonatal Clinical Fellow, NHS Resolution Register
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News Article
Maternity scandal families slam NHS over no confidence vote ‘silence’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Families impacted by the Nottingham maternity scandal say they have been left in “limbo” following silence from NHS England in response to their concerns over a major review, as 50 more come forward. The review into failures in maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trust has now had 512 families come forward with concerns, up from 460 last month, and has spoken to 71 members of staff. The update comes as families told The Independent they were yet to receive a direct acknowledgement or response to their warning on Monday that they had no confidence in newly appointed review chairwoman Julie Dent. In response to a letter outlining her appointment, the families asked for Ms Dent to decline the offer and instead pushed for NHS England to ask Donna Ockenden, who is chairing a similar inquiry into Shrewsbury maternity care. Former health secretary and health committee chairman, Jeremy Hunt, has now also challenged the NHS on Ms Dent’s appointment, and echoed the families’ call to ask Ms Ockenden. Read full story Source: The Independent, 29 April 2022 -
Content ArticlePreventable harm continues to occur to critically ill premature babies, despite efforts by hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to improve processes and reduce harm. This article in the Journal for Healthcare Quality describes the introduction of a robust process improvement (RPI) program at a NICU in a US children's hospital. Leaders, staff, and parents were trained in RPI concepts and tools and given regular mentoring for their improvement initiatives, which focused on central line blood stream infections, very low birth weight infant nutrition and unplanned extubations. The authors conclude that implementing the RPI program resulted in significant and sustainable improvements to reduce harm in the NICU.
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News Article
NHS orders new chair of review into baby deaths
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS has ordered a new chair for the Nottingham maternity scandal review which is looking into hundreds of cases of alleged poor care. In a letter published late on Friday the NHS said there needed to be “urgent” changes to the way the review was being carried out and this included appointing a former NHS trust chair Julie Dent to lead the review. More than 100 bereaved families wrote to the health secretary Sajid Javid on 7 April calling for the review, to be overhauled and the chair Cathy Purt, to be replaced by Donna Ockenden who chaired the Shrewsbury maternity scandal inquiry. The Nottingham review, dubbed an “independent thematic review”, was launched in July 2021 and is being led by local NHS commissioners and NHS England. It was announced after The Independent and Channel 4 revealed millions had been paid out by the trust over 30 baby deaths and 46 incidents of babies left permanently brain damaged by Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trust. Sir David Sloman, the NHS chief operating officer, said in his letter on Friday: “Following discussions at both a regional and national level, it is clear that urgent changes to how the review is being delivered need to be made. A new chair needs to lead this review with sufficient senior experience to address the concerns and challenges faced at Nottingham University Hospitals, to speed up the process and to deliver a review that can bring about real change for women and babies in Nottingham. “It has therefore been agreed that the review will now have enhanced national oversight by NHS England and NHS Improvement and I am pleased to announce that Julie Dent CBE has agreed to take on the role of chair for this review and she will begin this work with immediate effect.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 April 2022 -
News Article
Hospital admits negligence over failings leading to baby’s sepsis death
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A hospital has admitted clinical negligence over maternity care failings that led to the potentially avoidable death of a 10-day-old baby, The Independent has learned. Kingsley Olasupo and his twin sister Princess were born on 8 April 2019 at Royal Bolton Hospital. Kingsley died 10 days later following a catalogue of mistakes, which included failing to screen him for sepsis. Kingsley and his sister were born premature at 35 weeks. Three days later he was admitted to the special care unit due to a low temperature and “poor” feeding. Despite being reviewed by two doctors he was not screened for an infection and not given antibiotics. His condition deteriorated and on 12 April he was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and sepsis. Days later scans revealed he had severe brain damage and would not survive. Kingsley’s family said they had been “torn apart” by their son’s death and had pursued the trust to ensure a full independent investigation was carried out and lessons learnt. BFT launched an investigation into Kingsley’s care after Mr Olasupo and Ms Daley raised concerns over their son’s death. According to the trust’s investigation report, seen by The Independent, failings in care included that Kingsley was not screened for sepsis despite several “red flags”. Had this been done he would have been given antibiotics. When midwives first escalated concerns to the neonatal team no physical medical review of Kingsley took place. The investigation also found neonatal staff did not carry out daily reviews, and reviews that were done were incomplete and contained “inaccurate” and “misleading” information. Other failings included: “Ineffective” assessment of Kingsley’s wellbeing on the postnatal ward Poor communication between staff and poor handover processes No consideration was given to the fact Kingsley was not feeding well Inadequate recording of observations. Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 April 2022 -
News ArticlePregnant women should be tested for Group B Strep to save the lives of dozens of babies every year, campaigners have warned. Group B Strep is the most recurrent cause of life-threatening illness in newborn babies, with an average of two babies a day identified with the infection. Each week, one of these babies goes on to die while another develops an ongoing long-term disability. More than one in five women carry Group B Strep, a common bacteria that normally causes no harm and no symptoms. However, its presence in the vagina or rectum means babies can be exposed to it during labour and birth. Pregnant women in Britain are not routinely tested for its presence, but a trial led by the University of Nottingham is examining whether such a move would be effective. Campaigners have called for more hospitals to join the pilot to ensure it is successful. Jane Plumb, chief executive of campaign group Group B Strep Support, said: “It’s taken over 20 years of campaigning to get this trial commissioned. It’s devastating that only 30 of the 80 hospitals needed have signed up. We can’t let this trial fail. “We need to fight for the 800 babies per year that are infected with this too-often-deadly infection. We need more hospitals to take part. We need to rally together and get this trial over the finish line.” Ms Plumb said the majority of Group B Strep infections in babies are preventable. “If we don’t know, then they can’t be offered the protective antibiotics in labour,” she said. “Families so often tell us that the first time they hear of Group B Strep is after their baby falls ill. For a mostly preventable infection, this is unforgivable – and must change. “We want to encourage every hospital to take part. We need people to ask for their MP’s support. This is an opportunity to save so many babies’ lives, but we only have six months to get hospitals on board. It really is now or never.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 19 April 2022
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Community Post
'Drug scandal that damaged 20,000 babies'
Patient Safety Learning posted a topic in Adverse interactions
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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:- Posted
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