New SUDEP Action safety tools now part of Epilepsy Commissioning Toolkit

SUDEP Action has joined forces with many experts in the field of Neurology to create an Epilepsy Commissioning Toolkit for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across England. The toolkit is a web-based hub of information, advice and evidence needed to improve or commission epilepsy services for children and adults across their local area.  It aims to help inform the decision making process of service design and/or improvements, guiding CCGs through the process with a mix of case studies, resources and tools they can use.

Epilepsy Action and Epilepsy Society have led the project, with the below organisations (SUDEP Action included) also playing key parts in the Toolkit’s development:

•    Association of British Neurologists
•    Epilepsy Specialist Nurse Association
•    International League Against Epilepsy
•    Joint Epilepsy Council
•    NASH
•    Neurological Alliance
•    NHS England
•    NICE
•    Public Health England
•    Strategic Clinical Networks
•    The Royal College of GPs
•    UCB Pharma

Sammy Ashby, Policy and Development Officer for SUDEP Action has represented SUDEP Action in the development of the Epilepsy Commissioning Toolkit and worked with the team to ensure both the Check List and EpSMon are included in the final Toolkit. She commented “We are really pleased that both EpSMon and the SUDEP and Seizure Safety Checklist have received such a positive response and are being included in the Commissioning Toolkit. This means that information about the two tools and how they can help support care provision for people with epilepsy will be accessible to any CCG who accesses the toolkit online. This is an important step towards patient safety nationally.”

Juliet Ashton (Sapphire Nurse Consultant, Epilepsy Society) has collaborated with Peri O’Connor (Epilepsy Action) to coordinate the project. Juliet is also part of the EpSMon and SUDEP and Seizure Safety Checklist Development team and is supportive of their inclusion in the Epilepsy Commissioning Toolkit:
 “Consultations with Health Care Professionals are relatively short and precious. Patients often feel under pressure to remember and recount a lot of information, we know poor memory and recall can be an issue for people with epilepsy. EpSMon alleviates the stress allowing patients to monitor their risks at their own pace in their own time, allowing for a more productive two way consultation. EpSMon should be commissioned by CCGs, certainly something I will be advocating for.” 

The Toolkit is live and in the final stages of development before it is officially launched in September. 

For more information about EpSMon visit www.epsmon.com

More information about the SUDEP and Seizure Safety Checklist click here. 

The Epilepsy Commissioning Toolkit is available for CCGs to access at www.epilepsytoolkit.org.uk/