Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase provision of epilepsy treatment in (a) Hull West and Hessle constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The majority of health services for people with epilepsy are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are best placed to make decisions regarding the provision of health services to their local population, including for the treatment of epilepsy, subject to local prioritisation and funding.
At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement for those with epilepsy, including NHS England’s Neuroscience Service Transformation Programme and the RightCare Epilepsy Toolkit.
The National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on epilepsies in children, young people, and adults [NG217], published in April 2022, covers diagnosing and managing epilepsy in primary and secondary care, and referral to tertiary services. Recommendation 8.1 states that a ketogenic diet should be considered under the guidance of a tertiary epilepsy specialist for certain childhood-onset epilepsy syndromes, and for drug resistant epilepsy when other treatments have failed or are not appropriate. More information on this is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng217/chapter/8-Non-pharmacological-treatments#ketogenic-diet
We expect National Health Service commissioners to take NICE guidelines into full account in designing services that meet the needs of their local populations. It is, however, important to note that NICE guidelines are not mandatory and do not override a clinician’s responsibility to make decisions appropriate to individual patients, in consultation with them and their families.
Jun. 20 2024
Source Page: Topiramate: review of safety in pregnancyFound: Most people with epilepsy take epilepsy medicines (also known as antiepileptic drugs or antiseizure
Asked by: Wells, Annie (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many epilepsy specialist nurses there have been in each NHS board in each of the past two years.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The information requested on how many epilepsy specialist nurses there have been in each NHS board in each of the past two years is not centrally available.
Jun. 20 2024
Source Page: Topiramate (Topamax): introduction of new safety measures, including a Pregnancy Prevention ProgrammeFound: risks of topiramate use in girls (of any age) and women of childbearing potential in the treatment of epilepsy
Jun. 20 2024
Source Page: Topiramate (Topamax): introduction of new safety measures, including a Pregnancy Prevention ProgrammeFound: . • If you think you are pregnant and are taking topiramate for epilepsy , do not stop using topiramate
Jul. 24 2024
Source Page: Teratogenic Medicines Advisory Group minutes: February 2024Found: The Chair noted apologies, as above.The Chair also noted the summary on the Scottish Epilepsy Register
May. 29 2024
Source Page: Letters and medicine recalls sent to healthcare professionals in April 2024Found: feasible, other antiseizure medicines should be considered, availability and adherence to relevant epilepsy
Asked by: Gosal, Pam (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to organisations and charities that support people with epilepsy, in each financial year since 2019-20.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
Since 2019-2020, the Scottish Government has given the following funding per financial year to support organisations and charities that support people with epilepsy.
Financial Year | Total |
2019-2020 | £100,000 |
2020-2021 | £225,574 |
2021-2022 | £64,172.83 |
2022-2023 | £127,191.57 |
2023-2024 | £162,688 |
During the financial year 2024-25, the Scottish Government has paid £30,990 to date.
Sep. 05 2024
Source Page: Valproate use in men: as a precaution, men and their partners should use effective contraceptionFound: Their father and mother were treated with valproate for epilepsy.