We are the leading UK charity funding ketogenic dietitians and dietetic support workers who work in NHS hospitals countrywide, treating thousands of children who suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy with the ketogenic diet. Each full-time dietitian costs c.£48,000 pa. 

Once a hospital has identified the need for a ketogenic service the consultant responsible contacts us to request funding.  We offer pump-prime funding, usually for 2/3 years, on the understanding that a business case evidencing the success of the service is put forward to the hospital Trust to ensure that continued funding will be available when our funding ends.  

Our funding allows NHS hospitals to develop and expand ketogenic services and our proven success rate in Trust take overs has allowed us to make this medical-led diet widely available, free of charge, to families nationwide.  

In 2019 we funded our first two Daisy Dietetic Support Workers, who work within ketogenic services ensuring lengthy waiting lists are substantially reduced.

Our work in the promotion of the ketogenic diet as a therapy for drug-resistant epilepsy has positively changed the way it is viewed by the medical profession and we are thrilled that it has been wholly embraced by the NHS.  Our work in this field has been life-changing and is on-going.

Hospital Trusts benefitting from our ketogenic funding -

  • Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh
  • Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow
  • Leeds Children's Hospital
  • Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
  • Sheffield Children's Hospital
  • Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham
  • Royal Derby Hospital
  • Birmingham Children's Hospital
  • Oxford Children's Hospital
  • St George's Hospital, London
  • Evelina London Children's Hospital
  • Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
  • Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
  • Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
  • Derriford Hospital, Plymouth

As one of the biggest ketogenic diet services in the UK, with an ever-increasing demand, our waiting list for the ketogenic diet has risen significantly.  With timely funding from The Daisy Garland for a new dietitian we will be able to reduce the waiting time for children with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Dr Shakti Agrawal, Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital.

Thank you for all of your help to date.  It has been great to see the effectiveness of The Daisy Garland service develop and meet the needs of patients and families across the region.  We are excited we will now be able to build the service even more to meet the increasing demand, and train other dietitians within the team to ensure the service is a success into the future.  

Mike McLean, Service Lead Paediatric Dietetics, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh.