Campaigns

Two of Epilepsy Action's objectives are to raise awareness in our target audience about epilepsy and about us and our work, and to bring about permanent change for the social and medical benefit of people with epilepsy.

We do these by running two different types of campaign: lobbying campaigns and awareness raising campaigns.

Awareness raising campaigns

Awareness raising campaigns are campaigns where we seek to inform a particular group of people about a particular topic or issue:

• 'Epilepsy Aware'
  Making GP practices, pharmacies and beauty salons more aware of the needs of people with epilepsy by getting them committed to three important principles
• Women's Campaign
  An ongoing series of campaigns to raise awareness of the particular issues facing women with epilepsy.
  • 'An Ideal World for Women' - a survey of services for women with epilepsy
  • 'Mothers in mind' - advice on epilepsy, pregnancy and family planning
  • 'Lifeline - from adolescence to menopause' - raising awareness among health professionals and women with epilepsy of the stages in a woman’s life
  • 'Women Matter' - a women's guide to epilepsy
  • 'Epilepsy Mine' - personal experiences of what it's like to be a woman with epilepsy
• 'Take Control'
  Helping people with epilepsy to take more control of epilepsy symptoms, treatment side effects, The support resources, their rights and their future
• Education campaigns
  Including training for pre-service teachers, all-party parliamentary group on epilepsy, education and skills select committee and awareness in schools.
• Consistency of supply
  People with epilepsy should receive the same version of anti-epileptic drug (AED) whenever they get a repeat prescription unless their clinician prescribes otherwise. It should be from the same manufacturer, and indeed from the same country of manufacture. This applies to ‘branded’ generics and the usual brand leaders alike.
• Primary schools awareness project
  The scheme plans to deliver short training sessions for free to primary schools in three Local Education Authorities across the West Midlands.

Lobbying campaigns

Lobbying campaigns are campaigns where we ask our members and those with an interest in epilepsy to contact decision makers to seek improvements:

• Mapping UK Epilepsy Services (August 2008)
• Welsh epilepsy care plan (February 2008)
• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Epilepsy inquiry (England, spring/summer 2007) update June 2007
• Epilepsy specialist nurse campaign (UK, November 2006)
• National Service Framework (England, March 2005)
• Consensus Statement (England and Wales, 2004)
• Government Action Plan on Epilepsy in England (2003)

In Northern Ireland we have had a consultative meeting with the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety with a view to producing an action plan in the province, and in Scotland we have offered our assistance to the Chief Medical Officer.