The questions commonly asked by prospective members of the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests (ACDHPT).
Why should I join the association?
There are significant benefits to becoming a member of the ACDHPT. The chairman of the association works closely with the legal team, representing our members and receiving regular updates on their progress. We provide free advice, confidential updates and access to our legal team; however, legal representation is not guaranteed. The decision on representation will be made by our legal firm, based on your individual case.
When you join the association, you will receive regular confidential email updates that are exclusive to members. You will be kept up to date with any progress we make when dealing with the Government and with our legal team. We also provide invaluable access to other members of the ACDHPT also affected by HPTs, who will be happy to share support and advice and discuss issues and concerns they have encountered.
Each new member gives the ACDHPT the opportunity to increase our MP support. With your permission, we will contact your MP to ask for support for our All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) of 110 MPs. Our APPG has played a vital role in our success and will continue to be a key part of our success in the future. We have seen how effective our MPs are in Westminster, by obtaining backbench business debates, urgent questions and discussions in the Main Chamber, which led to two Government inquiries into the safety of HPTs/Primodos. All this was achieved because of the support from our cross-party group of MPs. We will need to vastly increase this support for our next battle and your membership will provide an opportunity to contact your MP to ask them to join the APPG for Oral Hormone Pregnancy Tests. The collective pressure of our MPs will ensure our voices are heard and bring us closer to success.
How many members does the ACDHPT have?
The association has 400 members, but we receive new enquiries each week. Please contact us if you feel you have been affected and help us to bring the Government and manufacturers to account.
What is the annual subscription fee for?
There is a subscription of £50 per year per family once confirmation has been received that an HPT was taken. The annual subscription, paid for many years by our existing members, provided the funds needed to continue our research, discover documented evidence used for the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review, and exposed the government and manufacturers’ collusion in keeping Primodos on the market. This research has taken us across the UK and Europe, researching archives and libraries, and provided for the cost of translating documents discovered in Germany. These documents provided significant evidence to be used by our legal team on behalf of our members.
These funds are essential to enable us to continue our work. It is a necessary resource we rely on.
How do I get my doctor’s note?
You probably do not have a copy of your medical notes from the time of your pregnancy, but you should be able to access them from your current GP’s surgery, where both paper and computer records will be stored.
On receipt of your notes, would you please scan and email the extract relating to your pregnancy to allow us to update your information. If you are unable to access your records, please email to advise us of the difficulties you have encountered, in case we can help.
(If you are the affected person making contact, the medical notes will refer to your mother obtaining the records.)
Will I have to start lobbying my MP?
No. On becoming a member, we will write to you, asking for your permission to contact your MP on your behalf.
What is the All-Party Parliamentary Group, and why is it important?
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is a cross-party group of MPs who have a shared interest in obtaining justice for the avoidable harm caused by oral HPTs. With your permission, the chairman of the association, Marie Lyon, will contact your MP requesting him or her to add his or her support on your behalf by becoming a member of the APPG.
It is due to the support of the APPG that we have achieved such incredible progress, culminating in the recommendations of Baroness Cumberlege and the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review team, published on 8 July 2020. The conclusions and recommendation contained in the report marked a significant milestone in our long and difficult campaign.
Members of the association have access to a private, members-only Facebook group.
