Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2014-06-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to implement a system to ensure that female patients prescribed valproate or any other anti-convulsant medication are given information relating to potential problems in pregnancy.

Earl Howe

All doctors, during undergraduate and postgraduate training, are made aware of all of the current evidence when prescribing in pregnancy. This is especially so when prescribing drugs that are potentially teratogenic such as anticonvulsants.

The core curriculum for trainee obstetricians which is overseen by the Royal College of Gynaecologists contains a detailed module on epilepsy in pregnancy including sodium valproate which all trainees are required to complete.

The Royal College of Physicians has a similar core learning module on drugs in pregnancy for physicians in training. It is recommended that women with epilepsy attend for pre pregnancy counselling so that management of their epilepsy in any future pregnancy can be discussed as well as any risks and benefits of medication they are taking.

NHS England expects all clinicians prescribing these drugs to follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. This is a very powerful tool to improve commissioning. The NICE guidance issued in January 2012 recommends that epilepsy nurse specialists should be an integral part of the network of care of children, young people and adults with epilepsy (para 1.8.3). One of their roles is to educate, inform and support the patient and their family with specific training about the management of epilepsy.