{"id":3938,"date":"2022-05-03T11:47:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T10:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/firstseizuresandepilepsy\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T15:12:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T14:12:55","slug":"firstseizuresandepilepsy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/neurology\/firstseizuresandepilepsy\/","title":{"rendered":"First Seizures and Epilepsy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Information<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>First Seizure Clinic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We see patients with suspected first seizure\/new diagnosis of epilepsy within (ideally) two weeks of referral, in dedicated clinics run by neurologists with expertise in epilepsy. Please see Referral Guidelines section below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Epilepsy service for people with Intellectual\/Learning disabilities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This service is separate from neurology and run by Drs Pamela Martis and Jane Stuart (available via NHS Lothian email).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Please note:<\/u><\/strong> To request the next available First Seizure Clinic appointment, referrers should contact DCN Outpatients via <a href=\"mailto:loth.wghdcnapptoffice@nhs.scot\">loth.wghdcnapptoffice@nhs.scot<\/a>. Telephone enquiries are no longer available. This should be done before submitting a SCI Gateway referral\u2014see the <em>Referral Guidelines<\/em> section for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>M.A. &amp; R.D. 14-11-24<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs\" data-active-tab=\"0\"><ul class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-links\"><\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Referral Guidelines<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">First Seizure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who to refer:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Anyone in whom you suspect a possible first ever epileptic seizure or new diagnosis of epilepsy, and think would benefit from a specialist opinion regarding diagnosis, investigations and possible treatment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><\/em><strong>What tests should you do in advance<\/strong>: Ideally, FBC, urea and electrolytes, calcium, glucose, liver function tests and ECG<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who not to refer:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Those who already have a diagnosis and you wish a further opinion regarding their condition. They should be referred via SCI Gateway (Neurology)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Those who may not benefit from investigation or treatment (e.g. people with advanced dementia living in a care home). We are always happy to offer advice in such scenarios (Dr RJ Davenport or Prof Jon Stone via email)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Please use SCI-gateway at RIE &gt;&gt; Neurology &gt;&gt; First seizure clinic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Access the Clinics:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prior to Referral:<\/strong> Contact DCN OP via <a href=\"mailto:loth.wghdcnapptoffice@nhs.scot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">loth.wghdcnapptoffice@nhs.scot<\/a> to request the next available First Seizure clinic appointment. Please ensure this appointment is made known to the patient; the short lead time means that letters of appointment will not be sent out. (RIE &gt; Neurology &gt; First seizure clinic) and <strong><u>include appointment date\/time.<\/u><\/strong> Referrals with no booked appointment will be declined.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Send referral letter via Gateway (First seizure clinic) and include appt date\/time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Remind patient to bring all prescription medications with them and ideally a witness (or witness be accessible by phone).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/assessing-fitness-to-drive-a-guide-for-medical-professionals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Provide advice where applicable regarding driving<\/a> (www.gov.uk)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Patients with established epilepsy may be referred via SCI Gateway and will be triaged appropriately.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Resources and Links<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/assessing-fitness-to-drive-a-guide-for-medical-professionals\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/assessing-fitness-to-drive-a-guide-for-medical-professionals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fitness to Drive (gov.uk)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nice.org.uk\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nice.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sign.ac.uk\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.sign.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Epilepsy Society &#8211; <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/epilepsysociety.org.uk\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/epilepsysociety.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.epilepsysociety.org.uk<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Epilepsy.org &#8211;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.epilepsy.org.uk\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"www.epilepsy.org.uk\" target=\"_blank\"> www.epilepsy.org.uk<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Epilepsy Scotland &#8211; <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk\" target=\"_blank\">www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Information First Seizure Clinic We see patients with suspected first seizure\/new diagnosis of epilepsy within (ideally) two weeks of referral, in dedicated clinics run by neurologists with expertise in epilepsy. Please see Referral Guidelines section below. Epilepsy service for people with Intellectual\/Learning disabilities This service is separate from neurology and run by Drs Pamela Martis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":4173,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[429],"class_list":["post-3938","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-firstseizuresandepilepsy"],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"NHS Lothian","author_link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/author\/nhs-lothian\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":" <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/category\/neurology\/firstseizuresandepilepsy\/\" rel=\"tag\">First Seizures and Epilepsy<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Information First Seizure Clinic We see patients with suspected first seizure\/new diagnosis of epilepsy within (ideally) two weeks of referral, in dedicated clinics run by neurologists with expertise in epilepsy. Please see Referral Guidelines section below. Epilepsy service for people with Intellectual\/Learning disabilities This service is separate from neurology and run by Drs Pamela Martis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3938"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25423,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3938\/revisions\/25423"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}