UNISON disabled members rep hails new epilepsy toolkit

UNISON has welcomed a new employer toolkit which was launched in October by Epilepsy Action to support employees with epilepsy. Louise Ashworth (pictured above), a member of Barnardo’s branch and of UNISON’s national disabled members committee, has lived with epilepsy for over 20 years. Speaking of working with the condition, she said: “Some employers do not understand epilepsy and, frequently, they consider epilepsy in a medicalised way rather than focusing on removing barriers. “The low percentage of people with epilepsy who are in employment is really concerning and it illustrates the discrimination and stigma that we face daily.” People with epilepsy have one of the lowest rates of employment among disabled people, with just over a third of those who identified epilepsy as their main health condition being in employment, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. In a 2016 YouGov poll, a quarter of respondents said that they would be concerned about working with someone who had epilepsy, with almost two thirds of those saying this concern was because they had no idea what to do to help a colleague during a seizure. Epilepsy Action commissioned research in 2018 to understand why people with epilepsy are disadvantaged at work and how to reduce these effects, with the results informing the toolkit. It includes: Information about epilepsy and the different types of seizures; Videos of how to help during seizures; Templates to help employer...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article disabled members Source Type: news