a day ago
Calls for greater understanding of epilepsy as report reveals health board failings
A woman from Merthyr Tydfil says people need be "more aware" when is comes to understanding epilepsy.
Melissa Davidge, 42, was diagnosed with the condition as a child, and takes around 14 tablets a day to help with the severity and frequency of her seizures.
Over the years, her seizures have led to numerous accidents, including broken bones. In one serious incident, she fell into a hot bath during an episode, resulting in third-degree burns and a month-long hospital stay.
Daily tasks present a challenge for Melissa, who depends on her family for support, with her sister helping with tasks like ironing to prevent serious accidents.
"People should understand that there are more than one type of seizures... they always think you're going to fall to the floor, start shaking and that's the tonic-clonic seizure, but there are many types of different seizures you can have," she said.
"Sometimes I can just be drifting into space, or in my own little world. My family can understand and recognise it... but there are loads of different types and people should understand that."
Her husband Kevin Davidge helps to care for Melissa. He said despite days when there are no seizures, they never know when the next is coming.
"You have to be on high alert all the time," he said.
A new report by Epilepsy Action Cymru found every single health board in Wales is failing to meet treatment standards for a first epileptic seizure.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines state patients should be seen by specialists within two weeks of having their first seizure, but no health board in Wales is meeting this target, with 43% of patients not being referred to a specialist service after their first seizure.
The report also highlights Wales is facing a neurology workforce shortage. While some progress has been made, the charity says this not enough to give patients the care they need.
Janet Paterson, Wales manager at Epilepsy Action, said: 'There is still so much to be done to reach the right level of care for people with epilepsy in Wales. We're nowhere near where we need to be.
'Too many patients keep telling us they're waiting months for an appointment, or they can't get a hold of a neurologist because they have too many patients. And the data speaks. It's practically impossible to serve a population of over 30,000 people with epilepsy with a dozen specialists.
'Not just this, Wales has a higher rate of incidence of epilepsy than the rest of the UK and the epilepsy population is growing, but services continue to be underfunded and, very obviously, not meeting the standards. This needs to change. Now.'
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We have set out what we expect of health boards to ensure people living with or affected by a neurological condition, including epilepsy, have timely and equitable access to high-quality services.
'We recognise the workforce challenges affecting the number of specialists for neurological conditions and are working with the clinical network, as well as Epilepsy Action Cymru, to address this.'
