In recent months, the Epilepsy Society Helpline has been inundated with calls and emails from people struggling to get hold of their anti-seizure medications.
Many report visiting multiple pharmacies to get their prescription fulfilled. One person travelled 160 miles to get their tablets. Another paid £60 in taxi fares to find a pharmacy with a stock of the right epilepsy medicine. And when people do find a pharmacy that can help, they have often been given just half their prescribed medication as pharmacists struggle to make a little go a long way.
Understandably, many of the calls have been very emotional.
In response, they have launched a survey to find out how medication shortages are affecting you – not just now but over the last year. They know that people with other conditions are also facing similar struggles, which is why they have joined forces with Parkinson’s UK as well as Epilepsy Action and SUDEP Action to carry out their survey.
They want to know if you have experienced challenges when it comes to accessing medication? Or maybe you’ve been given less medication than you need? Perhaps you’ve had to visit lots of pharmacies before you can find the medication you need?
The survey is open until Monday 1 April, so please take time to share your feedback. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete and will help us gather much-needed evidence. They will then present the findings to senior figures in the Department of Health and discuss long-term solutions.
People with epilepsy need their life-saving medicines. So have your say today!