This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

Seeking treatment for Lyme Disease

Posted By Preventable15

"Seeking treatment for Lyme Disease"

About: Queen Alexandra Hospital / Accident and emergency

(as a parent/guardian),

Admitted to Queen Alexandra Hospital with rash flu like symptoms extreme headache photo sensitivity. Suspected meningitis. Kept in overnight IV steroids given, discharged next day possible virus. Readmitted 10 days later worsening symptoms. Promised to have photos taken of rash and skin scraping but doctor went off duty and did not make entry into notes. Kept in for five days given paracetamol. Family suspected lyme disease and asked to check. However, patient woken up at 2am and asked have they visited the New Forest, when answered no nothing further done. Sent home. That was over 4 years ago and now has chronic lyme and having to seek treatment in USA. If doctors were trained sufficiently to recognise these clinical symptoms this could have been prevented and the disease cured in the early stages. The blood test taken was too early for any antibody response. PHE states that lyme disease can clinically assessed without waiting for blood tests. The blood tests are unreliable.

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Marion Brown, Head of Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 8 years ago
Marion Brown
Head of Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints,
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Finding ways to improve our services from the people who use them.

Submitted on 15/09/2015 at 16:12
Published on Care Opinion at 16:43

We are sorry to hear that you were unhappy with your treatment at the hospital when you attended some years ago. I note your comments regarding staff being aware of clinical symptoms of lyme disease and will be happy to pass this to the relevant department.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Preventable15 (a parent/guardian)

This is constructive criticism for a preventable disease. Nurses and doctors should be trained in what has become an epidemic in the UK. It is not a rare disease it is just rarely diagnosed correctly. Blood test can be false positive as well as false negative, clinical presentations must override serology. There are too many patients being misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia, ME, Chronic fatigue resulting in many years of cost to the NHS and in fact a loss to the country in respect of employment, taxes and national insurance contributions.

Response from Marion Brown, Head of Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 8 years ago
Marion Brown
Head of Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints,
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Finding ways to improve our services from the people who use them.

Submitted on 16/09/2015 at 10:12
Published on Care Opinion at 11:15

Thank you for this further information. We really do appreciate you taking the time to share your views and as mentioned I will make sure that this is passed to our Medicine Clinical Service Centre for information.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Marion Brown, Head of Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 8 years ago
Marion Brown
Head of Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) & Complaints,
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Finding ways to improve our services from the people who use them.

Submitted on 16/09/2015 at 14:04
Published on Care Opinion at 15:15

Dear Preventable15, I have passed your comments to our Medical staff and they were pleased to receive such helpful information. In order to ensure that we gain as much learning from this, it would be helpful if you could contact us direct with some specific patient details as that would allow us to review the individual case history.

If you are agreeable to this then please e-mail me direct and I will pass the details to the staff involved. E-mail: marion.brown@porthosp.nhs.uk.

If not, that's fine, and thanks again for the feedback.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Preventable15 (a parent/guardian)

Thank you Marion Brown, I will indeed contact you direct.

Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k