Hundreds pregnant despite implant

Around 600 women fitted with the Implanon contraceptive device have fallen pregnant, the drug safety watchdog has revealed.

This has resulted in a sharp rise in the number of women lodging claims for medical negligence, although no time-scale has been given of when the claims were made. Because some GPs are not trained properly in how to administer the implant, women have been recently advised to also use a condom when having sex.

Implanon is a small rod placed under the skin of the arm which releases the etonogestrel hormone, a laboratory version of progesterone. It is supposed to protect women against pregnancy for as long as three years. However, some medical professionals have incorrectly administered Implanon, meaning that the device was never actually inserted into the arm.

In some cases the implant was inserted too deeply into the skin for it to work properly.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency reported that 600 women have approached it complaining about falling pregnant despite having received Implanon. The agency also said 1,607 women complained about scarring and other problems caused by the device.

Over the past year, a total of £100,000 in compensation has been given to six women by the Medical Defence Union which represents around half of GPs. It said it has had 29 claims lodged with it in the past 10 years for implant-related problems.

The NHS meanwhile has paid out around £200,000 in compensation for similar issues related to Implanon.

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