Calls to address 'epilepsy scandal'
Epilepsy is in need of more investment, the report says
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Tuesday, 26, Jun 2007 05:12
The government has failed to address the needs of people with epilepsy in the UK, a parliamentary report has said.
According to the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on epilepsy 400 deaths could have been avoided and £189 million in wasted funds saved had the government acted differently.
The report, supported by the Joint Epilepsy Council (JEC), stated that over 69,000 people are living with unnecessary seizures, while 74,000 people are taking drugs they don't need.
Baroness Gould of Potternewton, chair of the APPG, said: "The regularity of avoidable deaths at nearly 400 each year is shocking.
"In addition, the numbers of people who experience seizures unnecessarily and the numbers taking anti-epilepsy drugs for which they have no need demands recognition as a national scandal."
The APPG has gathered written and oral evidence suggesting that people with epilepsy and their families have been continually left behind by society and has demanded change in the delivery of services to people with this condition.
Responding to the report, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said the government takes epilepsy "very seriously" but will study the report's conclusions "carefully".
"Funding allocation decisions are increasingly devolved to local health and social care organisations, giving them more flexibility to plan, resource and deliver local services to meet local priorities," the spokesperson added.
"The Department of Health commissioned the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) to produce the clinical guideline for the diagnosis, management and treatment of epilepsy which was published in 2004.
"Additionally in 2005 the national service framework for long-term conditions was published which focuses on improving services across the country for a range of neurological conditions, including epilepsy.
"The decision on how best to incorporate these arrangements into working practices must be decided at a local level, as we recognise each PCT will have its own approach to tackling the challenge of implementing Nice guidance."
When the local NHS is seen to be not funding Nice guidance then the department will ask Strategic Health Authorities to intervene, the DoH representative said.
Epilepsy is a medical condition that causes individuals to experience reoccurring seizures.