Who we are
The children and young person’s epilepsy service at The James Cook University Hospital is available to children and young people who live within Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland or live within North Yorkshire and whose epilepsy care is managed at the Friarage Hospital.
The team is made up of consultant paediatricians, specialist nurses and medical secretaries. We provide specialist advice, support and information in all aspects of epilepsy care to children and young people, their parents and carers.
Our service also helps people to understand modern epilepsy care through education and training.
What we do
- To be a point of contact for patients, parents and carers.
- To provide appropriate, timely and accurate information along with specialist age-appropriate advice to patients, families and their carers during investigations and from the time of diagnosis.
- To give a holistic assessment and provide ongoing support and monitoring.
- To provide Emergency Health Care Plans for all children and young people who require rescue medication.
- To be an effective and coordinated link between hospitals, community services and other health care professionals who may be involved in a patients care.
- To promote a wider understanding of epilepsy by providing education, advice and support to other healthcare, education and social care professionals involved in the care of children with epilepsy.
- To develop the epilepsy service through regular review and patient involvement.
Our aim
In our service all children, and their families, with a diagnosis of epilepsy have input from an epilepsy nurse, providing support, advice and teaching.
As a team through the means of good history taking, investigations and observation, our aim is to provide a seizure classification and epilepsy syndrome.
With our main objective of achieving seizure freedom or at least good seizure control so that children under our care are able to realise their full potential.
Where to find us
The team are based at James Cook in Middlesbrough and offer clinics at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.
How to contact us
- Tel: 01642 854489
- Email: [email protected]
Referral advice
New patients are referred into the service by a GP or possibly from another paediatrician after a hospital admission.
Referral to a paediatric epilepsy nurse is usually done by one of the consultant paediatricians once they have reviewed a patient and feel input is required.