Decision Report 201303271

Summary

Mrs C complained about the treatment she received as an out-patient at Perth Royal Infirmary. She was being treated for a bladder complaint and was prescribed a drug (trospium chloride) as part of her treatment. Shortly after this she had a relapse of a previous mental health problem, and she attributed this to being prescribed the drug.

Our investigation included taking independent advice from one of our medical advisers, who was of the view that the choice of drug was reasonable for a patient in Mrs C's age group, and with her medical history and medical condition. The adviser said that this type of drug was less, rather than more, likely to cause a worsening of a patient's mental health, that it was an appropriate choice of therapy and that Mrs C's reaction was very unusual.

The outcome Mrs C was seeking was to have her medical notes annotated with a warning not to prescribe this drug to her in the future and the board had told us during the investigation that they had already put notes in the relevant records. We asked the board to confirm in writing to Mrs C, and to us, that this had been done.