Solene Leroux
, modified at
3:31 p.m., October 29, 2021
The Epilepsy France association published a manifesto on Friday to call for state aid and a major national plan for epilepsy, details at the microphone of Europe Midi Christophe Lucas, its president. This neurological disease is diagnosed in 650,000 people in the country and their management is particularly complicated.
“Now that’s enough !” It is a real rant that the association Épilepsie France pushed on Friday in Europe Midi, through its president, Christophe Lucas. The latter recalled that thousands of French people with epilepsy “have an invasive handicap on a daily basis”. Already in 2017, the association organized a first epilepsy summit to “draw up a national epilepsy management plan, and we were not heard,” he laments. “There have been dressings for the disease, but nothing concrete and no truly national action plan.” The organization is the spokesperson for 650,000 French epileptics and their relatives.
A lack of suitable infrastructure
The main problem raised by Épilepsie France: the lack of infrastructure adapted to patients. “On the diagnosis, a certain number of teams specializing in neurology are missing,” recalls the president. “Today, epilepsy is diagnosed late or difficult, because there are very few epilepsy centers in France.” The tools to detect the disease are also sorely lacking, according to the association.
“Hallucinating prejudices”
“In terms of employment and education, mobility and social life in general, patients today find themselves with hallucinating prejudices.” Like the fact that this degenerative disease is a psychiatric or curable disease, whereas “contrary to what” certain employers who, by thanking sick employees, say ‘when you are cured, come back, we will take you back’, no we cannot not cure “.
According to the president, on the other hand, we can readjust employment or education. Mobility is also a problem for patients, who sometimes have to travel 50 or 100 kilometers to have tests or see their doctor. By launching this manifesto, Épilepsie France hopes to speak out for patients and their loved ones.
—
