Chapter Name: New Zealand League Against Epilepsy (NZLAE)
Report By: Lynette Sadleir

Publications:

Epilepsy Guidelines and Pathways for New Zealand Children and Young People (https://www.starship.org.nz/media/547624/epilepsy-guideline-2017-.pdf)

Summary of Activities:

We are fortunate to have a great group of clinicians in New Zealand who are committed to improving the management of epilepsy for New Zealanders. Through volunteered time they have educated, informed, advocated, administrated and networked to help achieve this goal. Our members have worked on several national committees including the Ministry of Health Epilepsy National Improvement Project and the Paediatric Neurology Clinical Network. 2017 and 2018 were busy and productive years for the NZLAE.

In 2018 we adopted a logo. The design was inspired by several elements. At the beginning of the spiral is a lightning bolt representing abnormal brain activity in a seizure. The end of the spiral has a Koru on it representing New Zealand and the hope for a cure.

Activities undertaken by the NZLAE in 2017 & 2018 include:

Education

• NZLAE Educational Day Oct 19th 2018 Christchurch
  “Seizures: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis”
  International Guest Speaker Professor Patrick Chauvel
  This meeting was held in the South Island for the first time and we also held an inaugural meeting for Epilepsy Nurses as a satellite symposium.

Paediatric Epilepsy Training Courses

• In 2017 the NZLAE introduced the British Paediatric Neurology Association Paediatric Epilepsy Training (PET) Courses to New Zealand. Our aim is for all paediatricians involved in the care of children with epilepsy to complete PET 1, 2 and 3 courses every five years and for any physician and allied health professional who encounters children with epilepsy, be it in general practice, ED, the EEG department or the community, to do a PET 1 course every five years.

• With the help of the BPNA our local paediatric neurologists were trained on course delivery and the first course was conducted in March 2017. Over the last 2 years we have delivered five PET 1 courses, three PET 2 courses and one PET 3 course. The courses are extremely well received and oversubscribed. We have had over 170 New Zealand clinicians, mainly paediatricians, attend these courses.

Improvement of Epilepsy Care:

After extensive consultation with the New Zealand Paediatric Neurology and Paediatric communities, Epilepsy Guidelines and Pathways for New Zealand Children and Young People were developed and are now published on the New Zealand Paediatric Clinical Network website. These guidelines are aimed at paediatricians and were introduced in combination with the PET courses. We have also updated all other New Zealand epilepsy health resources for both physicians and families so that the content aligns with our new guidelines. We have developed multiple information sheets and web based resources on seizure and epilepsy topics for paediatricians to use with families including an Epilepsy Passport. Our aim is that all New Zealand guidelines, pathways and information for people with epilepsy will be up to date, evidence based and aligned with expert epileptology consensus. It is envisioned these initiatives will facilitate improved care for New Zealand children and young people with epilepsy.

Communication:

To communicate information from both the NZLAE and ILAE to our members we have initiated a 4 monthly newsletter.

Challenges:

As a small country we have a small number of paediatric and adult neurologists with an interest in epilepsy. These individuals are busy and already stretched with their clinical and research workloads. They generously volunteer their time to undertake NZLAE activities but our progress is limited by time available. It is important for us to use their time and expertise wisely and efficiently. Unfortunately we do not have financial resources to fund administrative support. This is particularly an issue with the delivery of the PET courses. We are hopeful that the Australian and New Zealand Child Neurology Society will introduce PET courses to Australia in 2019 as this will increase available faculty for our Australasia region and funding for administration.

Future Plans:

In 2019 we will continue to deliver PET courses and our annual educational meeting. We will work to coordinate and advocate for the implementation of our guidelines throughout the countries 21 District Health Boards. We have started to develop Health Pathways for family doctors which will feed into our paediatric guidelines.

Officer Election Date: Nov 2019