Di Flatt manages the fundraising team at national charity Epilepsy Action. Di wants to use her time on the plinth to raise awareness of the work of Epilepsy Action, for people with epilepsy throughout the UK.
2010 is going to be the 60th anniversary of Epilepsy Action (also known as the British Epilepsy Association). Much has been achieved over the last 60 years. However many challenges are still ahead.
There are certain issues that Epilepsy Action continually battles against in trying to secure improvements in epilepsy services. The low priority of services within the NHS leads to poor funding of treatment and research. There is a distinct lack of specialists in the field, a lack of specialist knowledge among general medical professionals and no real drive to implement a pathway for care. Unfortunately the majority of these are not easy to address.
Progress is slow but is incremental. Our recent report ‘Epilepsy in England : Time for Change’ has the explicit support of the Department of Health. It carries a strong uncompromising message. We must continue to spread awareness of epilepsy – and the other issues surrounding it - and highlight the poor state of services.
Epilepsy Action is also involved in epilepsy across the world and the website http://www.epilepsy.org.uk is the most visited epilepsy website in Europe and the third most visited epilepsy site in the world. The website is a service delivery mechanism for people with epilepsy. Ensuring that vital information is available for those who need it whenever they need to access it.
In addition to passionately campaigning and fundraising for her charity Di writes a regular blog on the world of charities and fundraising http://diflatt.com. She is also an artist and writer, and loves history and travel. Di also has a fear of heights so her hour on the plinth may prove quite a personal challenge!
