Epilepsy nurses see their work go nationwide

Paediatric epilepsy nurses (from left) Chris Bennett, Fiona Lead, Nicky Heenan and Carys Amies

Work by a team of nurses at Hull Royal Infirmary has been adopted by a national epilepsy charity to help young people.

Epilepsy Action has published a series of leaflets aimed at teenagers, parents of children with additional needs and people who require documents that are easy to read.

The content is based on booklets created by children's epilepsy nurses Fiona Lead, Nicky Heenan, Carys Amies and Chris Bennett, who are all based at the Hull hospital.

"The content for the booklets took us about a year to develop [and] another year to tweak, and we've been using them for the past three years to provide structure and consistency [in our] epilepsy clinics," said Ms Lead.

The leaflets are intended to support young people as they make the move from child-focused, paediatric care to adult neurology or epilepsy services.

Ms Lead said studies showed the move from children's services to adult services could be very challenging for young people with a long-term health condition.

"It's common to see a big dip in their overall health and for young people and their families to feel like they've been abandoned, but providing a structured transition programme is widely acknowledged to help avoid some of these issues," she said.

"To have our content form the basis of nationwide resources for families and young people, we jumped at the chance.

"It was a real compliment, and it's great to know that the work we have done here in Hull, influenced by the many children, families and young people that we care for, is now helping to inform and support thousands of other families across the country who are living with epilepsy."

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