Individual Healthcare Plans

Epilepsy Action recommends that all children with epilepsy should have an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP), even if their seizures are well controlled. The IHP should be drawn up in a meeting with you, the pupil (if they are old enough), and the relevant healthcare professionals, for example an epilepsy specialist nurse or school nurse.

• Download the IHP template

In some situations, for example when emergency medicine is prescribed, the prescribing doctor will draw up an IHP to explain when and how the medicine is given. This information should be incorporated into a full IHP which covers other factors such as routine AEDs, side-effects and any learning difficulties or disabilities.

The school, parents, and anyone else who helped write the IHP, such as the epilepsy specialist nurse or doctor, should all keep copies of the IHP. The school should have a secure and reliable method of sharing the information held on your child’s IHP with the members of staff who work with him or her, while keeping the information confidential. If a member of staff is new to your child’s group, for example because their usual teacher is absent, this new member of staff should be made aware of your child’s epilepsy and should read their IHP.

If your child has to go to hospital from school, the member of staff who goes with him or her should take a copy of the IHP. If this is not possible, someone at the school should contact the hospital and tell any relevant information to the hospital staff as soon as they can.

A copy of the IHP should accompany your child on any off-site activities. If the activity is a residential visit, you should meet with the organisers well in advance to discuss anything that needs to be considered. This might include making sure your child can take their routine AEDs on the trip, or that trained members of staff will be available to give emergency medicine if it is needed. Your child’s IHP should be reviewed and updated before the visit.

IHPs should be discussed, reviewed and updated at least once a year. Between reviews, any changes, for example to a pupil’s condition or medicine, should be recorded on the IHP as soon as possible.

• Epilepsy awareness project for primary schools