Guide for parents to find funding to support children diagnosed with epilepsy, specifically Tonic-clonic epileptic seizures & who need help with nighttime seizure monitoring
By using the Children Act 1989, you may be able to get funding for direct payments from your local authority. Epiview is an alternative to waking nights carers for children & young people who have Tonic-clonic epileptic seizures & require nighttime seizure monitoring.
At a significantly lower cost to an agency waking night carer, Epiview allows you to to get greater support as well as providing additional diagnostic information for doctors & clinicians, treating your child’s epilepsy.
Disabled Children have a right to an assessment under the Children Act 1989.
Every local authority is different, from eligibility criteria to time it will take from initial contact to the assessment of needs to actual funding. To summarise the process and to see if you are eligible for funding, the following needs to be done:
- Click the correct link for your local authority
- Make contact using telephone / email / letter- This can be done by either yourselves or any professional involved with the child (so with your consent EpiView can make a referral for you!)
- Initial assessment is completed over the telephone and has various outcomes (depending on LA) which could be summarised as – – Eligibility criteria is met and formal referral to social care team is made- Eligibility criteria is not met – signposted to other organisations / teams that can help- Eligibility criteria is not met – family provided with relevant advice and information
- If eligibility criteria is met then formal assessment should be completed within 14 – 28 days. Funding should be set up 14 – 28 days following formal assessment and the agreement of needs. If funding is agreed it needs to be on a Direct Payment setup.
- If eligibility criteria is not met then there is the option to appeal. There is also a legal obligation to provide respite as a minimum so remember to ask about funding to use EpiView for respite care.
Select the county you live in to find your local authority children’s services.
You can apply for direct payments to pay for a sleeping night or waking nights carer & other services.
Combining our nighttime seizure monitoring with a sleeping nights carer has a lower cost than a waking nights carer & also provides a safer monitoring service.
Find out more about the nocturnal epilepsy seizure monitoring services we offer