In the Dáil last week, Deputy Pearse Doherty raised the need for the establishment of the promised inquiry into the historical licensing and prescribing of Sodium Valproate (Epilim).
We and our colleagues in OACS Ireland are continuing to liaise with the Department of Health regarding the establishment of the inquiry and to finalise the Terms of Reference for same.
You can see Deputy Doherty’s contribution in the video below.
Meanwhile, recent coverage in the Medical Independent has highlighted the other remaining outstanding commitments regarding Sodium Valproate. These include providing pathways of care for families who have been impacted and ensuring that no child will be impacted by valproate in the future.
You can read the coverage about this by visiting the Medical Independent website; as well as an additional article highlighting the personal impact of Sodium Valproate on the same website.
We would like to thank Deputy Doherty for raising this matter, and the Medical Independent for their continued coverage surrounding Sodium Valproate.
Alongside our colleagues in OACS Ireland, we will continue to use every avenue available to us to bring the outstanding commitments surrounding Sodium Valproate to fruition, including:
- The establishment of the inquiry into the historical licensing & prescribing of Sodium Valproate
- The establishment of a Stakeholder Group to review and strengthen existing risk reduction measures
- The recruitment of four Epilepsy Nurse Specialists to help ensure the implementation of the Pregnancy Prevention Programme for the circa 1,500 women who are currently taking Sodium Valproate in Ireland
- The need for accessible services in the community for the circa 1,250 families impacted by Sodium Valproate
We will provide any further updates we receive on the above on our website and social media channels.
Further information on Sodium Valproate can be found in the ‘Valproate’ section of our website.