Service Epilepsy Awareness
How common is epilepsy? Approximately 1 in 100 of the general population are living with epilepsy. With a staff population of 2,800 and a student population of over 15,000 there are probably around 180 people with epilepsy in the University.
What is epilepsy? A tendency to have recurrent seizures - A sudden burst of excess electrical activity in the brain, causes a temporary disruption in the normal message passing between brain cells. This disruption results in the brain s messages becoming halted or mixed up. What a person experiences during a seizure will depend on where in the brain the epileptic activity begins and how widely and rapidly it spreads. There are many different types of seizure and each person will experience epilepsy in a way that is unique to them.
Types of seizures (1) Focal (partial) seizures - the epileptic activity starts in just a part of the brain. The person may remain alert during this type of seizure, or may not be aware of what is happening. They may have movements that they can t control, or unusual sensations or feelings. Sometimes, onlookers may not be aware that they are having a seizure. Focal seizures can be very brief or last for minutes. Sometimes, epileptic activity starts as a focal seizure, spreads to the rest of the brain and becomes a generalised seizure.
Types of seizures (2) Generalised seizures involve epileptic activity in both hemispheres (halves) of the brain. The person usually loses consciousness during this type of seizure, but sometimes it can be so brief that no one notices. Their muscles may stiffen and/or jerk, and they may fall down.
Triggers for seizures Many people with epilepsy will never have any problems that anyone else would notice but some things make seizures more likely for some people with epilepsy. Triggers are things like stress, not sleeping well and drinking too much alcohol. Some people say they have more seizures if they miss meals. Not taking epilepsy medicine as prescribed is another common trigger. A very small number of people with epilepsy have seizures triggered by lights that flash or flicker.
Jewellery/Identity cards Some people with epilepsy choose to wear identity jewellery or carry an identity card with them, to let other people know that they have epilepsy. Jewellery usually has the owner s medical condition and a 24 hour emergency number engraved on it. ID cards are usually credit-card sized and show information on the medical condition, medication, and what to do or who to contact in an emergency.
Helping someone having a seizure (1) If someone is experiencing uncontrolled movements, especially if they are on the floor, try to support their head with a cushion, coat, or other soft item to protect their head from possible injury. If possible, move things they might injure themselves on. Have someone stay with them, as after the seizure they are likely to be very disorientated, unable to move or speak properly, and will probably feel unwell.
Helping someone having a seizure (2) You must never try restrain the person or put anything into their mouth, as these actions can cause injury to the person or to yourself. You may need to consider calling for a first aider or a member of Security for assistance. This is especially important if the person becomes injured or you think they could have banged their head. First aiders and Security Officers will call an ambulance if required although this is often not necessary.
Helping someone having a seizure (3) If someone is having a partial seizure, it may not be obvious to you what is happening. Mostly you will not need to do anything in such cases, but it is useful to be aware of the possible signs. Brief distraction and/or hesitation, jolts or muscular twitches, especially if repeated in quick succession, could be due to epilepsy.
Are there unsuitable jobs for those with epilepsy Safety critical roles such as working with electricity and working at height are obviously not suitable but many other roles are. You might wish to take into account: o o o Some types of work may be inadvisable because of the risk to the person s safety or wellbeing. This must be carefully risk assessed. Memory or ability to process information can be affected in a variety of ways and can depend on how information is presented. Absence seizures may mean that the person misses information and seems confused, hesitant, or unable to concentrate.
Reasonable adjustments for someone with epilepsy Epilepsy is a health condition covered by the Equality Act 2012. This means that reasonable adjustments must be put in place to allow someone to do their job properly. A risk assessment should be carried out to help determine the adjustments needed. You can contact UHS&E for support with drawing up the risk assessment and deciding on reasonable adjustments.
Legislation and resources The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Equality Act 2010 A generic risk assessment for epilepsy is available on the Staying Safe and Well web site.