Mark@Epilepsy Action's blog

Epilepsy can affect individuals in many ways and there are over 40 different types of seizures. People with epilepsy experience the condition in a way which is very unique to them and the support they need will vary greatly. This means that many people with epilepsy will not need to apply for benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment.

Our chief executive Philip Lee is one of the people who signed a letter appearing in The Times newspaper today.

For the next part of our UK-wide Take Epilepsy Action campaign, we are looking at how we can work with businesses, industries and institutions. We want to reach even more people with our epilepsy and first-aid information.

An investigation carried out by ‘GP’ magazine has found that retigabine has been ‘black listed’ by one primary care trust. This is Lincolnshire Prescribing and Clinical Effectiveness Forum (part of NHS Lincolnshire primary care trust).

A new project is underway to improve the knowledge of epilepsy and different seizures among police officers. This is part of the Take epilepsy action campaign, launched in September.

The Written Declaration on Epilepsy (22-2011) has been passed by the European Parliament.

The Declaration was submitted by the ‘European Advocates for Epilepsy’ and ‘Epilepsy Advocacy Europe’. This is a joint task force of the International League Against Epilepsy  and the International Bureau for Epilepsy.

 The Prime Minister today met with Valerie Vaz MP for Walsall South, Laura Sandys MP for South Thanet, Professor Helen Cross and a party from the Joint Epilepsy Council. The group discussed the shortcomings in health and education services for people with epilepsy.

A Scottish sheriff has this week said that people with epilepsy should be told about the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).

In the 2010 Spending Review, the government announced changes to some disability benefits. This included plans to stop paying the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to disabled people living in residential care.

The Department of Health in England has agreed to a proposal that will see it take responsibility for epilepsy surgery in children and young people. 

Epilepsy Action believes that this is a major success and big step forward.  This will increase the number of operations carried out each year. It should see a number ‘centres of excellence’ for epilepsy surgery being set up across England.