§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the contra-indications associated wih the drug Depo-Provera; if these contraindications are widely known to doctors and prescribing chemists; if the contra-indications are clearly indicated when prescriptions are handed over to patients; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe company has prepared a data sheet giving details of the contra-indications to, and the known side effects of, Depo-Provera which is available to all doctors. The chief medical officers of the United Kingdom have written to doctors about the possible side effects associated with Depo-Provera and the need for doctors to counsel patients before a decision is reached by the patient about treatment with Depo-Provera. In their letters, chief medical officers have also drawn attention to the information leaflet which has been prepared by the company for doctors to give to patients. The purpose of the leaflet, copies of which are included in the company's prescribing packs for doctors, is to help patients to decide whether they wish to be treated with Depo-Provera. The leaflet and cassette tapes of its text, are available in a number of languages.
67WI have arranged for copies of the CMO letter from our Department, and copies of doctor's prescribing packs, to be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set up a fund to compensate any patient who suffers injury as a result of the contra-indications of Depo-Provera.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. It would be for the courts to determine the outcome of any claim for compensation made on the grounds that Depo-Provera, properly used, had been the cause of injury to a patient.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he now has pursuant to the answer of 13 November 1984, Official Report, column 220, on the policy of the Food and Drugs Administration of the United States of America towards the drug Depo-Provera; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI understand that the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) are still considering this matter.
We have asked the Committee on Safety of Medicines for its advice on the report of the public board of inquiry set up by the FDA. As with all medicinal products marketed in the United Kingdom, the safety of Depo-Provera is kept under constant review.