Epilepsy service

The epilepsy service is a specialist service for children aged 0-18 years living with epilepsy in the boroughs of Barnet and Enfield. Our service is delivered by two consultant paediatricians who have a special interest and expertise in childhood epilepsy. The service is supported by an epilepsy specialist nurse and a team of paediatric secretaries and administrators.

Whether you are newly diagnosed with epilepsy or have been living with it for some time, including children with chronic, complex epilepsy and where seizures are difficult to control, we assess, investigate, manage and monitor disease progression. We have established links with tertiary neurology services in line with the current national guidance for epilepsy.

Out-patient clinics

We run a first seizure clinic at Barnet Hospital to review any child who has been referred with a definite first or probable seizure.

Our epilepsy nurses offer all families with newly diagnosed epilepsy an appointment in the nurse led clinic and assistance with all aspects of living with epilepsy. The epilepsy nurses will support the epilepsy consultant by discussing information that has already been given to the patient/family and can review the management of epilepsy via telephone reviews or in the epilepsy nurse clinic, as well as being a point of contact between consultations if required. Epilepsy nurses can provide further information advice and support regarding:

epilepsy and its management, giving advice to patients, family, carers and other health professionals about how to manage individual epilepsy needs
understanding and coping with the diagnosis

  • management and self care
  • medication and its side effects
  • emergency medication
  • safety and first aid
  • social and leisure activities and travel
  • lifestyle and social Issues for teenagers (alcohol intake, drugs, sexual health, sleep deprivation, family planning and pregnancy)
  • driving regulations
  • sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)
  • national association contact details and support groups.

We have a large amount of written information on various subjects available for people to take from the out-patient clinics. Information is given on an individual basis depending on the patient's needs.