Since 1954, Epilepsy Scotland has existed to support people with epilepsy across the country.
As our services have adapted and expanded throughout the decades, we have remained a voice for people with epilepsy in Scotland.
The work of Epilepsy Scotland
As an organisation, our mission is to work with people living with epilepsy to ensure that their voice is heard. We strive to do this in everything we do.
Our Helpline is available to offer free, confidential information and support to anyone who calls.
We provide numerous publications which offer information and support across many areas of epilepsy, for people with epilepsy, their families, carers, employers and teachers.
Our Communications team shares the voices of people with epilepsy, working to increase awareness of the condition and connecting people with our support services.
Also, Wellbeing services who support children, young people and adults with epilepsy, offering wellbeing support and welfare rights advice.
Meanwhile, our Policy team respond to emerging issues faced by people with epilepsy in Scotland and work closely with decision makers to exert influence to ensure people with epilepsy are represented.
A national organisation
We are, at our core, a national organisation. While the Epilepsy Scotland head office is in Glasgow, our work extends across Scotland, with our services are available to everyone and our influence extending to every corner of the nation.
The COVID-19 pandemic opened up a fresh opportunity for us to deliver our services virtually.
As we emerged from lockdown restrictions, we have been able to offer all of our services both in person, based in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and online.
By enabling our Wellbeing, Youth, Welfare Rights and Training services to function online, we can support more people, from further afield, than ever before.
Epilepsy Scotland roadshow
In 2015, we went on tour, visiting all of the health boards in Scotland, offering a mix of information stalls, training events and school talks.
Since then, our Helpline and Information team have participated in various information events across the country, including in the Western Isles in 2019.
However, due to the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, our in-person events came to a halt, and we were only able to reach people virtually.
As we emerge from the lockdown restrictions, we are eager to get back into communities across Scotland.
Over the coming months, we are embarking on a national roadshow. We will visit communities in every health board area in Scotland to raise awareness of epilepsy, promote our services, and reach out to anyone who may be interested in our work.
We want to ensure people in every region and island of Scotland know we are here, and we can support you.
The Orkney roadshow event
We are kicking off our roadshow events by engaging with people living with epilepsy in Orkney. On Tuesday October 25 and Wednesday 26, a group of the dedicated Epilepsy Scotland team will be in Kirkwall.
We will be hosting an information stall at the Pickaquoy Centre in Kirkwall between 10am and 4pm on both days.
As part of this stall, one of our Helpline and Information Officer, Stuart, will be on hand to provide information and answer any questions you may have about our work, epilepsy, and our services.
One of our Welfare Rights Officers, Tracey, will also be at the Pickaquoy centre and be available to offer drop-in welfare advice sessions to people with epilepsy, their families or their carers, as well as to welfare rights specialists seeking to learn more about the condition.
Our Youth Service Coordinator, Kirstyn, will be visiting a number of primary schools based in Orkney, delivering epilepsy awareness talks and sharing resources with teachers and students.
Our Policy and Communications Manager, Ross, intends to meet with local policy makers and elected representatives to ensure the voices of people with epilepsy are being heard in both local and national policy.
Jane from our fundraising team will also be in Orkney, seeking to raise funds and recruit volunteers for future events.
While in Orkney, we hope to reach as many people as possible to raise awareness and to share valuable information.
We want to make sure people living in Orkney know our services are available to them, at any time, not just when we are visiting the Orkney community.
If you would like to meet with any of our Epilepsy Scotland team in Orkney, please email contact@epilepsyscotland.org.uk for more information.
The future of our roadshows
We plan to visit every health board area in Scotland over the coming months so stay tuned to our social media channels or our website to learn more about our future roadshow events!
To find out more about our Orkney event, get in touch with our free and confidential helpline on 0808 800 2200 or email contact@epilepsyscotland.org.uk
