Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

David Linden Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Ms Dorries]

My hon. Friend makes a really important point. It is a recurring theme—over and over again—that when patients complain, the first point of complaint is to the trust where they were treated, but that is often where the logjam is. A patient-safety campaigner told me recently that it was seven years before the chief executive of a trust would even acknowledge his complaint or meet him. That is where we see the logjam happening. I will take away my hon. Friend’s point and consider it, because it is a very important one.

[David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)]

Like the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Cat Smith), I wish to focus on the specific issue of sodium valproate. Given that it was a UK-wide review, what discussions is the Minister having with her counterparts in the Scottish Government to ensure that we find a systematic way to identify women who are at risk—say, by way of a patient register?

[Ms Dorries]

Health is devolved in Scotland, of course, but we constantly have conversations with our healthcare partners across all the devolved nations.