Wales presses UK Government for decision on compensation for valproate victims

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

Wales’ Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor has urged the UK Government to say whether it will compensate people harmed by the epilepsy drug sodium valproate when it was taken during pregnancy.

Mr ap Gwynfor joined health ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland in writing to UK patient safety minister Dame Diana Johnson. They warned that the wait for a formal response to a report published in 2024 was causing “significant anxiety and distress” for those affected and their families.

Thousands of babies are thought to have been harmed by exposure to sodium valproate during pregnancy since the 1970s. The drug is used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder, and can cause major birth defects and lifelong learning difficulties when taken during pregnancy.

Dr Henrietta Hughes, England’s patient safety commissioner, published her report on the issue in 2024. The ministers said the UK Government had yet to respond formally, decide whether to offer financial compensation or give families a timetable for a decision.

“Those impacted by the issues considered in the Hughes Report have already waited many years for recognition and resolution, and the lack of clarity regarding the UK Government’s intentions is adding to that uncertainty,” the ministers wrote.

The letter was also signed by Scotland’s public health minister Maree Todd and Northern Ireland’s health minister Robbie Butler. The ministers welcomed the UK Government’s commitment to work with them and said they were ready to consider any proposals it brought forward.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “For far too long those harmed and their families have been without an answer from the UK Government.”

The spokesperson said responsibility for regulating medicines and medical devices, including sodium valproate and pelvic mesh, rests with the UK Government.

The UK Government has been approached for comment.