The management of epilepsy at work.

This paper examines the way in which health problems, resulting from epilepsy, are managed in one large organisation, the British Civil Service. The part played by stress in precipitating epileptic seizures is first of all considered. This leads on to a discussion of the problems of finding a medical regime that, on the one hand, prevents epileptic attacks at work and, on the other, does not result in side effects that adversely affect work performance. The importance of social support is also stressed. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to improve the process whereby information on the requirements of a job are related to information on an individual's epilepsy, in order to determine the risk of their having, or causing, an accident at work.