In an era of recession and belt-tightening, you would think the government would leap at opportunities to save money. But according to a forthcoming report by the Joint Epilepsy Council (JEC), the NHS is knowingly squandering £189m a year on ineffective epilepsy services.

A report by the all-party parliamentary group on epilepsy two years ago found that £134m was wasted as a result of misdiagnosis, resulting in 74,000 people taking anti-epileptic drugs they did not need, while £55m was spent on disability benefits that would not be necessary if epilepsy were better treated. The human cost is also high: each year 990 people in England die of epilepsy causes, of which 400 are avoidable. A further 69,000 people have to live with unnecessary seizures. The unemployment rate among people with the condition is nearly double that for other disabilities, and 30,000 children with epilepsy are not doing as well at school as they could.

The report concluded that the cost of improving epilepsy services would be cheaper. But, two years on, the JEC's new report will say nothing has been done.

Graham Faulkner, chief executive of the National Society for Epilepsy and deputy chairman of the JEC, says: "There is no doubt that improving services for people with epilepsy would benefit both the patient and the taxpayer. The case for improvement is overwhelming - lack of medical specialists, a low level of expertise among non-specialists and administrative indifference have led to a disastrously poor service, clearly not fit for purpose, and wasting money."

Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) published in 2004 recommend that all people with suspected epilepsy should see a specialist within two weeks, but 49% of acute trusts do not employ one, and of those that do, more than 90% of trusts have long waiting times. The guidelines also state that specialist nurses should be part of medical care for those with the condition, but 60% of acute trusts and 64% of PCTs don't have one.

Epilepsy specialist nurses are extremely cost-effective, the JEC claims, saving consultants' time and reducing emergency hospital admissions.

A Department of Health spokesman says: "Many people with epilepsy are receiving excellent care provided by dedicated multi-disciplinary teams and we are taking steps to spread this good practice and make sure these sorts of services are available to everyone."