According to the results of the United Kingdom’s first national epilepsy audit focused on the care of children with the condition, approximately 1 in 200 children in the UK have some form of epilepsy, but still they do not get the right amount of care.

The audit was meant to see what type of care children with epilepsy receive when compared to the 12 standard measures. This audit was led by the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and funded by the Health Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS.) For the audit, nurses and pediatricians who want to better the standard care epileptic kids receive assisted the auditors with their research. What they found was that 79 percent of epileptic children saw doctors that specialized in childhood epilepsy.

Something else that the audit learned was that 46 percent of the kids got to see a nurse that specializes in treating epileptic kids; 40 percent of the kids didn’t get to see a pediatric neurologist when they needed to. The auditors also learned that 35 percent of the kids didn’t get a complete first assessment, which can make it difficult to treat them properly. The project’s leader, Dr. Colin Dunkley, has this to say about the audit:

“We’ve seen marked steps forward in epilepsy care for children in recent years; the majority of children are now being seen by pediatricians with expertise and many are getting detailed diagnoses and being prescribed the most appropriate medicines first time. But there are certain areas that need to be improved if we’re to give children and young people the best possible medical treatment and ongoing care to help manage their epilepsy and maximize their learning and quality of life.”

These days, it is common knowledge that misdiagnosing epilepsy in kids can expose them to the dangerous side effects linked to different medications. One of those dangerous medications is Topamax, an anti-seizure medication that has been proven to cause birth defects in babies whose mothers take the drugs while pregnant. Some of those birth defects include PPHN, spina bifida, oral clefts and neural tube defects.

If your child was born with birth defects because of exposure to Topamax, contact attorney Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Topamax lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your child’s injuries.