Valproate-containing medicines can cause birth defects and developmental disorders in children whose mothers take them during pregnancy
The inquiry will focus on the use of sodium valproate, also known as Epilim, among women of childbearing age. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/ Bloomberg
On Wednesday Mr Donnelly announced the appointment of Bríd O’Flaherty BL as chairwoman of the inquiry into the use of sodium valproate, also known as Epilim, among women of childbearing age.. Affected mothers have called for an inquiry into why they were not warned of the risks.
“If the timeline finds there were systemic failures, then my strong preference would be families should not have to go to court and we should find a non-adversarial process of providing supports and compensation,” he saidThe Department of Health said the inquiry had been set up to give a voice to those affected by a diagnosis of foetal valproate spectrum disorder and would assess the adequacy of services and supports in place for patients and their caregivers.
“There are key questions of who knew the issues with the drug, when did they know those issues, what issues did they know about and why was that information not passed on to patients,” she said.
Department-Of-Health Hse High-Court
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