Admissions Criteria

The unit receives referrals from all over the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and occasionally abroad. Richard Miller is able to cater for a diverse range of needs, including individuals for whom the diagnosis of epilepsy is not clear. We also assess people whose epilepsy is poorly controlled or where anti-epileptic medications have been prescribed without optimum seizure control being attained.

People with learning disabilities who suffer from epilepsy often have other difficulties affecting their quality of life. These may include verbal and physical aggression, under or over activity, unpredictability and explosive outbursts. They may also display an affective disorder, psychosis, anxiety, features of the ‘Dysexecutive Syndrome’, or reduced ‘motivation’. The inter-relationships between these problems and the person’s epilepsy are highly complex and a full understanding of one cannot be achieved without systematic appraisal of the others. With this in mind, all individuals must be assessed before being admitted for residency.