Epilepsy (Hansard, 25 March 2002)

§ Mr. Wray
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance is provided to carers of severe epileptic sufferers. [41319]

§ Jacqui Smith
The National Carers strategy is providing better support, information, and care for carers. Carers of people with epilepsy will benefit from the strategy, which includes: extending the Carers Grant to ensure that 75,000 carers will receive a break by 2004; improving social security provision to benefit 300,000 carers financially; providing information and guidance through the Carers UK help-line, Government and voluntary sector booklets and leaflets, carers centres and on-line services, and telephone conferencing to bring carers together to discuss their experiences and provide mutual support; and, allowing carers to access relevant services and support from general practitioners.

§ Mr. Wray
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people he estimates suffer from epilepsy in the UK. [41320]

§ Jacqui Smith
Epilepsy is the commonest serious neurological disorder affecting around one in 130 of the UK population, or 380,000 people.
Around seventy per cent. of people newly diagnosed with epilepsy are prescribed oral anti-epileptic drugs (anti-convulsants). It has been estimated that seventy per cent. of people taking anti-convulsants have their seizures prevented completely or greatly reduced.

§ Mr. Wray
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government have done since 1997(a) to raise awareness of epilepsy and (b) to reduce triggers of epilepsy in the environment. [41321]

§ Jacqui Smith
The Government has undertaken a range of co-ordinated initiatives to raise awareness of epilepsy. These include: supporting the Epilepsy Advisory Board to produce "Epilepsy Care—Making it Happen", a highly useful publication for improving epilepsy services; holding a NHS Epilepsy Day in October 1999; commending the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) report, Services for people who have epilepsy, to the NHS; providing Section 64 funding to the Joint Epilepsy Council (JEC) to undertake a project to draw upon the good practice advice in the CSAG report and other recent epilepsy initiatives; supporting the National Sentinel Audit into Epilepsy Related Deaths which is expected to be published in May 2002; and, publishing the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) Annual Report 2001, On the State of the Public Health, which included information on epilepsy.
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The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is producing a clinical guideline for epilepsy to help address widespread variations in clinical practice and contribute to the delivery of improvements in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of epilepsy. This will be supported by an appraisal of the clinical and cost effectiveness of new "add-on" drugs in children and adults, to help promote appropriate uptake and equitable access.
People with epilepsy will also benefit from the emerging Expert Patients Programme, which aims to provide training in self-management skills for people with long term chronic conditions. The first pilot phase will begin shortly in selected primary care group and trust sites, one of which will focus activity on people with epilepsy.
The CMO's Annual Report makes a commitment to putting in place an action plan which will cut the level of preventable deaths from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy three months after the National Sentinel Audit into Epilepsy Related Deaths is published in May 2002.
These initiatives will contribute to raising awareness of epilepsy and specific trigger factors.

§ Mr. Wray
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many medical practitioners in the NHS are specialised in epilepsy detection and treatment. [41318]

§ Jacqui Smith
The Department does not collect information about the number of general medical practitioners in the NHS who are specialised in epilepsy detection and treatment.

§ Mr. Wray
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money the Department has spent on research into epilepsy since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [41317]

§ Jacqui Smith
The Department funds research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in health and social care. The Department's expenditure on completed and ongoing directly commissioned projects since May 1997 is about £1.5 million.
In addition to specific projects, the Department also provides support for research commissioned by charities and the research councils that takes place in the national health service. Management of much of the research supported by NHS research and development funding is devolved and expenditure at project level is not held centrally by the Department. The total investment is therefore considerably greater than just the spend on directly commissioned projects.
The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its funding via the Department of Trade and Industry. In 2000–01 the MRC spent £3 million on epilepsy research.