Ombudsman clears NHS Tayside after patient’s adverse reaction to prescribed medicine

An HIV-positive man suffered serious mental problems after taking medicine prescribed by NHS Tayside.

The Scottish public services ombudsman was asked to investigate and found the man, referred to in his report only as Mr C, had been prescribed the anti-retroviral drug efavirenz.

The ombudsman said: ”Mr C was told that the potential side-effects of the drugs included dizziness, light-headedness, skin rash and vivid dreams or nightmares.

”We also found that, although healthcare professionals had discussed the main side-effects with Mr C, he was not told that he might suffer from serious mental change but we considered this to be reasonable because it was such a rare side-effect.”

Although the ombudsman has rejected the man’s complaint, he has recommended to the board of NHS Tayside that it reviews the information given to patients about the potential problems that can arise when taking efavirenz.