MPs will examine government progress on recommendations made by the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review in a report, ‘First Do No Harm’, published in 2020. An update by Ministers on progress to implement the government’s response was due this summer. A Minister from the Department of Health and Social Care has been invited to appear before the Committee.
The IMMDS Review’s report called for better communication to inform women of the risks of sodium valproate in pregnancy. Despite an NHS ‘valproate pregnancy prevention programme’, 247 women since April 2018 were found to have been prescribed the drug in a month in which they were pregnant, 25 as recently as April to September last year. The review also called for better care and support for women who experienced adverse effects from surgical mesh implants, including specialist treatment centres.