Ria’s emergency admission due to Seizures - Dr Allan Harkness says go home, you only have a virus!!!
By Den Heslop on 19/03/2009
Ria’s Neurological symptoms had been worsening since Jan 2009 and obviously her GP Dr Renju was made aware of this fact. Her ID consultants made it perfectly clear that this decline was because Ria has not been receiving the necessary IV medication.
On the evening of 17 March 2009, Ria became very poorly so I put her to bed at 6:15pm - she quickly started to have a series of uncontrollable seizures that were gradually getting worse. I was so concerned and worried for Ria’s life that, despite her disapproval, I called 999 for emergency assistance. The call centre was fantastic and kept me on the phone until the ambulance(s) arrived. The Paramedic team arrived very quickly but it took them a long lime to get Ria into the ambulance as she was so unstable. Ria continue her full seizures and fitting in the ambulance which took her to Colchester General Hospital. In total these seizures went on unabated for two and half hours.
The emergency staff were excellent, seeming to be highly trained and confident in their analysis, stating that Ria was having partial seizures and needed to see a neurologist (which she did during the following weeks).
Ria was then settled in to an emergency ward for the night as EAU insisted that she required continual overnight monitoring and x-rays the following day.
What happened the next day beggars belief. After reviewing the information a cardiologist (remember not a neurologist), Dr Allan Harkeness, stated Ria could go home as she was NOT having seizures but she only had a virus!
Despite Ria stating quite clearly to Dr Harkness that she was in hospital for seizures, and that her Lyme Disease was not up for discussion (the ward Sister will verify this), he insisted on lecturing Ria about the copious amounts of literature he’d read on Lyme Disease and suggested that Ria should not be following her current guidelines. After I questioned his ability and qualifications to confront Ria on this subject, he started raging and, as a consequence, the ward Sister had to raise her voice at him saying “Dr Harkness, I think it’s time to leave”. This tense encounter quickly became very fraught and the Sister, who was very kind and considerate, came back later to apologise.
Please now read Ria’s admission notes stating that she was admitted for SEIZURES and her subsequent notes from her Lyme-literate Doctor and NHS Neurologist, both stating she was, and does continue, to have seizures.
The good news is that Ria is now on anti-seizure medication with great benefit.
Dr Harkness strikes again!
Download file SeizureEvidenceFromAEUandOthers.pdf here >