Health chiefs have moved to reassure patients after a report found some breast cancer patients in NHS Tayside were treated with a lower chemotherapy drug dosage than those across the rest of Scotland.

The Scottish Government, NHS Tayside and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), the NHS inspection agency that reviewed breast cancer treatment procedures in the region, all say the risk of any negative effects on patients is “very small”.

Patients who received chemotherapy for breast cancer are now being offered a one-to-one appointment to discuss any concerns after it was claimed patients should have been informed of the different approach.

The board is now working to align breast cancer chemotherapy with national practice. Its medical director, Professor Peter Stonebridge, said: “We understand that the HIS Report published today may cause patients some concern and even distress and we are very sorry for that.”

The disparity arose after cancer doctors reduced chemotherapy dosages for some patients in a bid to reduce side effects, meaning treatment practices were out of step with the wider north of Scotland cancer network that covers the north-east and the Highlands and Islands.

Experts from Healthcare Improvement Scotland – asked to review breast cancer treatment procedures in the region by the Scottish Government’s chief medical and pharmaceutical officers – say ‘the NHS Tayside breast oncology consultant team [had] a different opinion from the rest of [the cancer network].’

They go on to state: ‘the NHS Tayside breast oncology consultant team [were] firm in their belief that their practice is in the best interests of patients in NHS Tayside,’ despite this assessment being ‘at odds’ with the views of other medical staff.

HIS says more needs to be done to include these workers, such as pharmacists and nurses, in decision-making.

The NHS regulator’s report also states patients should have been informed they were received a different dose.

Practice for consent at Tayside might not have been ‘truly informed’, in keeping with the General Medical Council’s expectations nor ‘in the spirit of current case law’, it warns.

One recommendation states: ‘Where routine practice is different from that supported by the wider oncology community, patients should be informed of this.’

In a joint statement the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer said: “In line with the principles of realistic medicine, it is vital that patients are actively involved in discussions about their treatment and that they feel empowered to ask questions about risks, benefits and any other options available to them.”

Scottish Government cancer experts will now “fully consider all of the report’s individual recommendations and how they can be best delivered”.

Their findings are expected in June.