Healthcare professionals conference

Managing epilepsy: improving outcomes

Healthcare professionals conference, Friday 5 July 2013

Epilepsy Society and London South Bank University jointly present a conference to help to shape epilepsy services to ensure the best outcomes for people with epilepsy.

This event delivers expert talks and successful strategies for patient involvement,and facilitates the interactive sharing of models of best practice.

Book your place now!

Free places are available for Epilepsy Society Professional members.

This conference will:

• enhance your understanding of the commissioning landscape for epilepsy services;
• assist you to develop tools for improving epilepsy service delivery;
• discuss strategies for delivering patient-centred epilepsy care and management; and
• offer excellent opportunities for networking with other health and social care professionals within epilepsy services.

You wil be given a personal reflective paper to use towards your CPD points or revalidation portfolio.

Delegate rates

Early bird rate (up to end of 30 April): £100 per person
Standard rate (from 1 May onwards): £120 per person
Epilepsy Society professional members: free of charge (click here for the promotional code - you will need your membership login details to access this page. Alternatively please contact us on 01494 601 392 for your promotional code).

Book your place now

Programme

Registration with tea and coffee
Welcome address – Professor Judith Ellis, Executive Dean, Faculty of Health and Social Care, LSBU

Plenary session 1 – mapping the epilepsy landscape
Introduction by the Chair – Dr Richard Roberts
Keynote address: Compassion in practice – the national vision for nursing – Deborah Wheeler, Regional Head of Quality Assurance (South), NHS England
Setting the ‘epilepsy’ scene – Professor Ley Sander, Medical Director, Epilepsy Society
Questions and summary from the Chair

Coffee break

Plenary session 2 – focusing on the individual
Introduction by the Chair – Dr Greg Rogers
Supporting individuals in treatment choices and promoting adherence – Anthony Linklater, Epilepsy Specialist Nurse, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
The value of nurse specialists in long term conditions – Dr Alison Leary, Reader in Advanced Nursing Practice, LSBU
Questions and summary from the Chair

Lunch break – including opportunity to visit sponsor stands

Breakout session 1 – Four sessions run simultaneously. Choose one of four (see below).
Comfort break and move to next breakout session room
Breakout session 2 – Four sessions run simultaneously. Choose one of four (see below).

Breakout session topics

1. Commissioning effective epilepsy services: sharing best practice - Julie Richardson, Deputy Director of Services, Epilepsy Society
2. Emergency medication in the community: sharing experiences and best practice - Jennifer Nightingale, Epilepsy Specialist Nurse, Epilepsy Society
3. Epilepsy-specific social work issues - Sally Garrett Smith, Social Worker, Epilepsy Society
4. Motivational interviewing and the challenges of the 10 minute appointment - Professor Jane Wills, London South Bank University

Speaker profiles

Professor Judith Ellis MBE
Executive Dean, Faculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University
Judith Ellis is Executive Dean for the Faculty of Health and Social Care at LSBU, and a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Judith joined LSBU in 2010, having held an Executive Board position in the NHS. She trained as an adult and children’s nurse in the 1970’s and 80’s, and held a number of senior positions within clinical practice, education and management before undertaking a national policy role at the Department of Health focusing on the Quality agenda. Her career has focused on promoting the consistent delivery of high quality patient care. She is a council member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and currently holds the role of (interim) Chair. She was awarded the MBE for services to Paediatric and Clinical Practice Benchmarking.

Dr Richard Roberts
Governor of Epilepsy Society and Chairman of Epilepsy Scotland
Richard was Reader in Medicine at the University of Dundee and Honorary Consultant in Neurology for NHS Tayside before retiring from clinical practice in 2011. He had a subspeciality and research interests in epilepsy and the provision of services for people with epilepsy. He is a previous treasurer of the UK chapter of the International League Against Epilepsy. He was a member of the development group for the pilot SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network) guideline on the Diagnosis and Management of Epilepsy in Adults published in 1997, and was Chairman of the development group for the wider ranging revised SIGN guideline published in April 2003.

Deborah Wheeler
Regional Head of Quality Assurance (South), NHS England
Deborah trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and spent her clinical career in orthopaedic nursing, before moving into nursing  management. She has been director of nursing at several NHS trusts in London, and became Deputy Director of Nursing (East) for NHS South of England and worked as Director of Education (Nursing & Midwifery) for UCL (University College London) Partners. She has also been chair of the Royal College of Nursing Society of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing. She was a member of the Church of England’s Hospital Chaplaincy Council from 2000-2010 and was on the multifaith group for healthcare chaplaincy from 2006-2010.

Professor Ley Sander
Medical director and Professor of neurology, Epilepsy Society
Ley Sander is also Professor of neurology and clinical epilepsy at the Institute of Neurology, and Honorary consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. Ley is Director of the World Health Organization Collaborative Centre for research and training in Neurosciences, and Director of the clinical trials unit at Epilepsy Society. In 2007 he became the Director for scientific research at SEIN – Epilepsy Institute of the Netherlands Foundation, The Netherlands. He was a member of the management committee of the International League Against Epilepsy from 2001 to 2005. His specialist areas of interest are in drug issues, patient care and the epidemiology of epilepsy.

Dr Greg Rogers
GP with a Special Interest in Epilepsy, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent
Greg Rogers is a part-time GP working in Margate, Kent. Two thirds of his time is spent in general practice. The other third of his time is spent as a GP with a Special Interest in Epilepsy (GPwSI) for East Kent. Greg is also the current chair of the International League Against Epilepsy UK Chapter GP Society for Epilepsy. He was a member of the guideline development group for the recent update to the NICE clinical guideline for the treatment and
management of epilepsy. Stemming from this work, he has become a member of the development group for the forthcoming NICE epilepsy quality standards. Alongside this, Greg is working on a PhD on epilepsy service provision and re-design at University College London (UCL).

Anthony Linklater
Epilepsy specialist nurse, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN)
Anthony Linklater is an epilepsy specialist nurse at the NHNN, where he is responsible the vagus nerve stimulation therapy service as well as supporting individuals with epilepsy attending clinics. Anthony has worked for two acute NHS Trusts and at the National Society for Epilepsy (now Epilepsy Society). He has been a nurse prescriber since 2004 and has a masters degree in epileptology. He is particularly interested in medication adherence and is leading a pilot project aimed at improving adherence and providing support through the use of mobile phone text reminder services. He is also a visiting lecturer at LSBU and a honorary senior lecturer at City University.

Julie Richardson
Deputy director of nursing, Epilepsy Society
Julie Richardson manages the nursing and therapy services, the Sir William Gowers Assessment unit, the supported living services and domiciliary care agency. Julie qualified as a nurse in 1975 and went on to study widwifery. She worked in the NHS specialising in neurology, where she was instrumental in developing a Stroke unit, and as a ward sister ran a 26 bed neurological rehabilitation unit. At Epilepsy Society Julie delivers nurse training, and developed the epilepsy modules for LSBU and Epilepsy Society’s BSc (Hons) Professional Nursing Practice (Neuroscience Care) qualification. She has also leads audits of epilepsy services in primary care for Neurological Commissioning Support.

Jennifer Nightingale
Epilepsy nurse specialist, Epilepsy Society.
Jennifer Nightingale is the epilepsy nurse specialist at Epilepsy Society. Jennifer qualified as a nurse in 1995 from St Bartholomew Hospital, London. She worked as a neurosurgical nurse until 1999 and also worked for The British Brain and Spine Foundation as an information officer. In 1999 she became an epilepsy nurse specialist at Barts and The London NHS Trust. In 2004 she completed an MSc in Epileptology with a distinction. Jennifer has recently moved to Epilepsy Society as their epilepsy nurse specialist. She also lectures on quality of life, stigma and family on the MSc Epileptology at Kings College.

Dr Alison Leary
Independent healthcare consultant and research analyst
Alison Leary is an independent healthcare consultant and researcher, commissioned by the UK National Health Service and other government, commercial, statutory and charitable sectors. She is also Reader in advanced nursing practice, and delivers Master Classes for nurses working in advanced and specialist practice at LSBU. Alison worked for 10 years in biomedical science and biomedical engineering within the NHS before taking a nursing diploma. She gained a Masters in biomedical science (haematology) before specialising in lung cancer and thoracic surgery. She gained a PhD in medicine from University College London in thoracic oncology. Alison undertakes various projects around the modelling of complex systems, specialising in pattern recognition and data mining for national and international clients. This includes workforce modelling in healthcare and economic cost-benefit analysis. Her educational work includes programmes and workshops which help specialists from many professions articulate their contribution to healthcare. 

Sally Garrett Smith
Social worker, Epilepsy Society
Sally Garrett Smith is a social worker at Epilepsy Society.
Sally studied to become a social worker in 2000, qualifying with a BSc Hons in 2004. During her training she completed a placement at the National Society for Epilepsy (now Epilepsy Society). It was this placement that stimulated her interest in working with people with epilepsy. After she qualified, she started work as a locum social worker at Wycombe General Hospital. In 2006 she started working at Epilepsy Society as a part time social worker. She has been working with people with epilepsy for the past 6 years through Epilepsy Society’s assessment centre.

Professor Jane Wills
Professor of Health Promotion, London South Bank University
Jane Wills is Professor of Health Promotion at London South Bank University, and has over twenty years of experience in teaching public health and health promotion both in the UK and in developing countries. Jane is the author of a best-selling textbook ‘Foundations for Health Promotion’, which is on the core curriculum of nursing and health studies in many countries. She is an experienced facilitator and expert educator in numerous skill areas including social marketing, behaviour change communication and evidence informed practice. Her UK research focuses on discovering what works in building resilience, wellbeing and flourishing and promoting (health) equity in populations and services.

The following companies have financially supported this Epilepsy Society and London South Bank University national conference for healthcare professionals. Representatives will be present at the event.