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Seòmar agus comataidhean

Scotland yet to Fund Bedrolite for Children with Severe Intractable Epilepsy

  • Submitted by: Pauline McNeill, Glasgow, Scottish Labour.
  • Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
  • Motion reference: S6M-18887

That the Parliament believes that Bedrolite is a highly effective drug which is used to successfully treat severe intractable epilepsy in children who have proven unresponsive to the range of other drugs available for the condition; understands that Bedrolite is legal to use in the UK but not licensed by the relevant regulatory bodies, and for this reason it is not routinely funded through the NHS; further understands that exceptions have been made in both England and Northern Ireland to enable the NHS to meet the costs of the medicine for a small number of families; understands with concern that no case has yet been funded by the NHS in Scotland, leaving families to face hardship due to the costs of the medicine; considers that Bedrolite has very real impacts on the lives of those children who respond well to the medicine when all other options have proven ineffective, which can mean that a child can go from having hundreds of seizures a week to none and can attend school and sports activities when previously they were unable; understands that in Scotland, invasive, risky and costly surgery that could cause long-term harm has been offered by the NHS instead, and calls on the medical directors and chief executives of the nation's NHS boards to use their powers to fund Bedrolite prescriptions for the small number of cases of severe intractable childhood epilepsy where other options have proven to be ineffective and where the medicine has had clear positive impacts.


Supported by: Paul Sweeney