It is the most common serious neurological condition in Scotland, yet there is no national action plan guiding how it is diagnosed, treated or supported.
And you will make positive change for people with epilepsy and their loved ones.
Epilepsy affects more than 80,000 people in Scotland. More than two die from it every week. Outcomes vary sharply by postcode and circumstance, with people in the most deprived communities more likely to develop the condition and to experience worse outcomes, including earlier mortality. Despite this, there is no national action plan guiding how the condition is diagnosed, treated, or supported.
Source: Public Health Scotland, General Practice disease prevalence data visualisation, 8 July 2025.
Prefer to listen? A short audio overview on the case for a National Epilepsy Action Plan within the Long Term Conditions Framework.
Congratulations on your election to the Scottish Parliament. We wish you well for this term.
As it happens, the early days of this new Parliament coincide with National Epilepsy Week, a fitting moment to begin a conversation that has been overdue for years.
Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition in Scotland. Yet there is no national plan to coordinate how it is diagnosed, treated, or supported.
More than 80,000 people in Scotland live with epilepsy.
More than two die from epilepsy-related causes every week. Outcomes vary sharply by postcode, and by deprivation. People in our most deprived communities are more likely to develop the condition, and more likely to die from it.
The Scottish Government's own consultation paper acknowledges that conditions without a dedicated framework or action plan receive less resource than those with one. Epilepsy is one of those conditions.
Epilepsy Scotland is proposing a National Epilepsy Action Plan, built around the following six pillars:
One. Minimum standards of care.
Ensure every person in Scotland with a first suspected seizure receives timely specialist assessment, regular clinical review, and access to an epilepsy specialist nurse, with standards set nationally.
Two. Paediatric care that builds on Scotland's strengths.
Protect Scotland's world-leading paediatric Managed Clinical Networks, so the same coordinated approach reaches adult services too.
Three. National training standards.
Establish recognised training across health, education and community settings, including in the safe administration of anti-seizure medication, to a single national standard.
Four. A boost for Scottish life sciences.
Provide more support for Scotland's brain-health and neurolongevity technology sector, driving research, digital innovation, and Scotland-led discovery in epilepsy care.
Five. Better data, better decisions.
Improved data on epilepsy outcomes, including epilepsy-related deaths, reported publicly by NHS Board each year.
Six. Public awareness and first aid.
Encourage greater public understanding of epilepsy and seizure first aid, reducing stigma and avoidable 999 call-outs.
With your parliamentary advocacy and scrutiny, the Long Term Conditions Framework, and the proposed Paediatric Framework alongside it, could be the architecture for delivering this. The framework needs a first condition to prove it can work. Epilepsy is ready to be that condition.
Including epilepsy in the first wave of action plans will not just change lives in this Parliament. It will prove that the framework can deliver for conditions that have been left behind.
Visit epilepsy.scot to read the briefing, and to find out how you can help.
Reveal the truth: it's time for a National Epilepsy Action Plan.
If you are an MSP, lodge your public pledge using the form below. We verify each entry against your parliament.scot email before counting you in.
If the form doesn't work for you, email publicaffairs@epilepsyscotland.org.uk directly with your name, constituency and pledge.
20 pages: the data, the action plan, the asks, parliamentary tools, and a draft motion you can table.
Download the PDF →Editable Canva designs for LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook and TikTok. Print the poster, snap a pic, post with #RevealTheTruth.
Print the poster →We can supply background, statistics, model questions and motion drafts. Reach out to public affairs for a hand.
publicaffairs@epilepsyscotland.org.uk