AQW 45913/22-27

Miss Órlaithí Flynn
Sinn Féin
West Belfast

Tabled Date: 11/05/2026
Answered On Date: 20/06/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) any support services that are available for women, children and families affected by sodium valproate exposure during pregnancy; (ii) whether his Department has any plans to proactively identify and contact those who may have been harmed; and (iii) any discussions his Department has had with the British Government in relation to services, support and redress following (a) the Cumberlege Review; and (b) the Hughes Report.

Answer:

Patients can access care and support based on clinical need through normal referral processes. However, I recognise that further enhancements can be made to improve the care and support for individuals and families affected by a range of medicines taken during pregnancy, including exposure to Sodium Valproate. My Department continues to work with Health & Social Care system partners to improve the safety of medicines in pregnancy more widely and ensure that Sodium Valproate is only prescribed where clinically appropriate.

Information on the number of people harmed by Sodium Valproate is not currently available. However, the Cumberlege report estimates that 20,000 women were adversely affected across the UK, with a corresponding estimate of between 550-600 patients potentially impacted in Northern Ireland.

My officials have had regular and ongoing engagement with their counterparts across the UK since the publication of both the Cumberlege Review and the Hughes Report. However the three Devolved Administrations have been unable to move forward on this while awaiting consideration and assessment from the Department of Health & Social Care. Regrettably, a UK Government decision on redress has still not been taken.

At a Four Nations Ministerial Meeting in January that focused on this important issue, I pressed Dr Zubir Ahmed MP as the then UK Minister responsible for Patient Safety for movement on Financial Redress along with my colleagues from Scotland & Wales. Subsequent to this, my Department made a short statement to coincide with the second anniversary of the publication of the Hughes Report. I remain committed to working together with our UK Government partners towards a positive UK-wide resolution and I will continue to urge the UK Government to provide a clear timeline for the progression of the recommendations from the Hughes Report