First aid

This information is for prison staff dealing with prisoners with epilepsy. Further information on first aid for seizures is on our website.

First aid for seizures (fits) with full loss of consciousness

This is what you should do

• Protect the person from injury
• Remove harmful objects from nearby
• Cushion their head with something like a pillow, or your hands
• Turn them on their side once the seizure has finished
• Stay with them until they have fully recovered

And this is what you should not do

• Don’t try to stop the seizure or hold the person down
• Don’t put anything in their mouth
• Don’t try to move them unless they are in danger where they are
• Don’t give them anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
• Don’t try to bring them round

When you should call for emergency medical care

• If the seizure continues for more than five minutes
• If one seizure follows another without the person gaining consciousness between seizures
• If the person is injured during the seizure
• If possible, make a note of what happens to the person before, during and after the seizure, and how long it lasts for. This information can be of help to medical staff.

First aid for seizures (fits) without full loss of consciousness

This is what you should do

• Stay calm
• Guide the person from danger
• Remember that they might not know what’s going on
• Stay with them until they have fully recovered

And this is what you should not do

• Don’t try to stop the seizure or hold the person down
• Don’t act in a way that could frighten them
• Don’t give them anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
• Don’t try to bring them round

When you should call for emergency medical care

• If one seizure follows another without the person gaining awareness between seizures, or
• If the person is injured during the seizure, or
• If possible, make a note of what happens to the person before, during and after the seizure, and how long it lasts for. This information can be of help to medical staff.