A definition of epilepsy is given to distract from the in-depth complexity of epilepsy, with statistics and its prevalence within the population to support the argument of funding and the lack of epilepsy specialist services within England. The need for health promotion is apparent later, with a scenario that brings together the use of official Government policies and health care professionals approaches to care.
'A disorder of the central nervous system characterised by periodic loss of consciousness with or without convulsions. In some cases it is due to brain damage but in others unknown'
(The Collins English Dictionary © 2000 HarperCollins Publishers:)
How common is epilepsy within the population?
1 person in 20 will have an epileptic seizure at some time in there life. However epilepsy is only diagnosed following a minimum of 2 seizures. This changes the population statistics, so that 1 in 50 people will have epilepsy at some time in their lives. However the numbers of people who have epilepsy within the UK currently stands at 1 in 200 adults and 1 in every 100 children, (NSE, April 2003). These statistics become apparent, because epilepsy can occur at any age. Most frequent diagnosis is amongst those aged under 20 years and over the age of 60.
This means there are around 380,000 people with epilepsy in the UK. (DoH, 2001)
What percentages of people with Learning Disabilities have epilepsy?
The frequency of people with learning disabilities who have some form of epilepsy is around 30% however this is increased to at least 50% in those with a profound and multiple learning disability. (NSE, July 2003)
Is there a link between learning disabilities and epilepsy?
There is no direct link between learning disabilities or epilepsy, as far as that having a learning disability doesn't cause epilepsy and vice-versa. However both epilepsy and learning disabilities are symptoms of underlying brain damage o...