A desperate dad has spoken out over the difficulty in getting his daughter diagnosed – 13 weeks after she started having daily seizures.

Canterbury Christ Church University student Shanice Waterman had her first episode when she passed out in mid-January.

Since then, as the situation has worsened, ambulance crews have been called to the family's Gillingham home five times – the latest occasion being on Saturday last week.

Dad Steve says he's at the end of his tether about the length of time it's taking to get an 'urgent' brain scan, leaving the family – especially 19-year-old Shanice – in limbo.

He and wife Tanya, both 47, called an ambulance after the first seizure and the teenager was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital and then the neighbouring Medway On Call Care (MedOCC).

Steve said: "We sat for six, seven hours and by the time we'd seen someone, the other departments in the hospital we needed to see closed down for the day so we got discharged.

"They told her to come back if it happened again which we did and it's just been that constant cycle of going back."

They contacted their GP at Medway Medical Centre in Gillingham and say it took three weeks for an over-the-phone appointment to be scheduled.

She then had to wait until two weeks ago for a face-to-face appointment where she was told she needed a brain scan.

Health and safety worker Steve added: "I explained what had been going on and explained we've taken videos of when she's been having the seizure or passing out.

"We took videos of what was happening with her body and face because her eyes are all over the place, she was having rapid eye movements."

He says they were assured the required scan would be marked as urgent.

The teenager had an ECG test which showed a big spike in her heart rate when she passes out. She also has sleep apnea which means she can stop breathing.

On Thursday, Steve called the neurology department at Medway Maritime to find out about the scan and says he was told there could be a 21-week wait.

He added: "The doctor said if you want you can go private, but I'm not in a position to be able to afford that and we shouldn't have to. What should we do? Do we come home and find Shanice choking on her sick? She's living in fear, we all are."

KentOnline understands the NHS 'urgent' criteria means a patient is seen within four weeks of the appointment being made – meaning Shanice should have a scan at the beginning of April.

She said: "Sometimes before I pass out I get a pressure in my head, but sometimes I don't feel it whatsoever, it just kind of happens. And then obviously once I'm out, I don't know anything that's going on.

"When I wake up I'm just really really confused. I usually can't speak afterwards for a few minutes and can't really do anything myself I'm just really really, really confused."

A week last Saturday, when Shanice passed out for more than half an hour, two first response ambulances came to the house.

"I had her in one hand and was cleaning up the sick from underneath her mouth with my other hand." Steve said.

"When it first happened it was a five-minute event but over the past few months it's been getting worse and now she's started throwing up."

Shanice is in the first year of a forensic science and criminology course.

She goes into campus three days a week and has to get a 40-minute train to Canterbury East and walk another 15 minutes.

She added: "Other than that, I'm pretty much at home all the time just bored out my mind because I can't do anything...or for the things I can do, I'm too scared to go and do alone.

"I haven't had one in my sleep but it was my birthday late February and me and my boyfriend went to a hotel room.

"During the night I woke up just go to toilet and passed out while I was in the bathroom."

She has lost conciousness on the train, in Canterbury and a few times at her campus.

Chester Road resident Steve added: "It's absolutely terrifying as a parent not knowing if when we come home we're going to find Shanice lying on the floor.

"You can't relax in the house, she's either up in her room watching Netflix or trying to study and I'm constantly shouting up 'are you still alive'? Or I'm texting her.

"The concern is we want to find out what caused it and what triggered it. Is it epilepsy or is it completely something unrelated?

"We just haven't got a clue what the next step is, as a family we're all just really worried."