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GPs reporting unfit to drive

CarbsRok said:
When your OH filled in the form for his new driving licence it does ask about neuropathy, so OP got his licence under false pretences, so valid end of story.
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@CarbsRok, this isn't actually true. Form DIAB1 Online doesn't require any mention of neuropathy per se, rather whether you require special controls or an automatic gearbox to drive the car as a result of your condition. There is no requirement to tell the DVLA on the license application whether you have neuropathy.

You are supposed to notify them:
  • If you have poor blood circulation or loss of sensation (such as caused by neuropathy) that means you need to drive only particular types of vehicles, such as those with automatic gearboxes or with hand operated accelerators or brakes
  • If you develop a complication of diabetes or any other medical condition that affects your ability to drive safely
Which is may or may not be the case in @Molly56 's scenario, with being able to feel their feet.
 
I
Molly56 said:
This seems a good idea in theory to protect the public from those that are deemed unfit to drive but have reservations as to exactly how it would work in practice...just wonder what criteria the GP will consider as being sufficient evidence .....also how will they know whether the patient has informed the DVLA if advised to do so....and how many people will avoid going to their GP with issues that may lead to them subsequently being reported as unfit to drive ....can see that it may help in more 'serious' cases where health problems are clearly defined and diagnosed and the fitness to drive question is clear cut but what about the grey areas such as the situation I am aware of where someone is just not following the rules of testing and driving....would this be deemed as reportable by a GP or only if blood sugar levels as recorded were low enough to result in hypos..what if recorded levels were always on the high side....
...it is only be looking into it myself that I have found there may be other reasons for other medical conditions other than diabetes that people should inform DVLA ...the A to Z list on their website is very comprehensive with many conditions that are notifiable that you wouldn't necessarily think of being so....peripheral neuropathy I think surprised me a bit as even though my partner has loss of feelings in hands and feet no 'official diagnosis' of this has been made as far as I am aware and certainly no mention has ever been made by a healthcare professional that he should be notifying the DVLA of this fact.....only the fact that he is now on insulin......how many people I wonder are actually unaware of what other issues they are required to report....
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I can only speak for myself but if I knew my partner was not testing while on insulin (regardless of BG levels), had a significant loss of feeling in feet, had failing eyesight, and was deliberately falsifying the information that was being given to the HCP - I would report him like a shot. I think there is a level of personal responsibility here and if I knew all of the above, I would tell the HCP, not to mention DVLA. But all this was covered in your other thread..
HCP's need to be able to inform the DVLA of irresponsible drivers and stop them from risking injury or death to others.
 
donnellysdogs said:
Its just for diabetics to be aware.. Especially those of us who have restricted licences that GP's can notify DVLA without informing patients.

Seems to go at odds to DVLA increasing the age limit from
70 to 75 years before reapplying.
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In fairness.
A GP will advise a driver to "hang up his car keys" if the patient is deemed to be medically unfit to operate a motor vehicle..
It's down to the patient whether they heed this advice from the GP & action it by notifying DVLA & putting the car up on Autotrader.. So it's not going to come as much of a shock to the driver if DVLA revokes the driving licence..

The patient will basically already be "informed" by the GP's aforementioned recommended advice.?! o_O
 
There are a lot of medications that patients should inform DVLA of their usage. Some for depression...
I know 5 years ago with my driving incident that after phoning DVLA and informing them that their lengthy drawn out processes were making me depressed I suddenly two days later had a further letter from them stating I had not informed them of all my medical circumstances. When I phoned to ask them what they were referring to it was because I had stated they were making me depressed- they wanted to have further evidence of any medication prescribed for the depression and that I wasn't going to deliberately kill myself driving...

There are a lot of conditions that are reportable to DVLA and also a lot of medications.

Patients are not always aware of this.
 
donnellysdogs said:
There are a lot of medications that patients should inform DVLA of their usage. Some for depression...
I know 5 years ago with my driving incident that after phoning DVLA and informing them that their lengthy drawn out processes were making me depressed I suddenly two days later had a further letter from them stating I had not informed them of all my medical circumstances. When I phoned to ask them what they were referring to it was because I had stated they were making me depressed- they wanted to have further evidence of any medication prescribed for the depression and that I wasn't going to deliberately kill myself driving...

There are a lot of conditions that are reportable to DVLA and also a lot of medications.

Patients are not always aware of this.
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I certainly wasn't aware of it. Thinking back when my GP prescribed my antidepressants he did very clearly ask me if I felt suicidal, so maybe that's one of the reasons why. Interestingly one of the side effects on the leaflet is listed as 'suicidal tendencies' too. :rolleyes:
 
donnellysdogs said:
There are a lot of medications that patients should inform DVLA of their usage. Some for depression...
I know 5 years ago with my driving incident that after phoning DVLA and informing them that their lengthy drawn out processes were making me depressed I suddenly two days later had a further letter from them stating I had not informed them of all my medical circumstances. When I phoned to ask them what they were referring to it was because I had stated they were making me depressed- they wanted to have further evidence of any medication prescribed for the depression and that I wasn't going to deliberately kill myself driving...

There are a lot of conditions that are reportable to DVLA and also a lot of medications.

Patients are not always aware of this.
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All these medications & conditions are on the DVLA questionare though. They check this out with the GP..
It's strange this issue arose with your experience.. It's normally a straight forward process. (As long as ones "medical history" tallies up with the GP's.)
 
Jaylee said:
All these medications & conditions are on the DVLA questionare though. They check this out with the GP..
It's strange this issue arose with your experience.. It's normally a straight forward process. (As long as ones "medical history" tallies up with the GP's.)
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Mine was purely because I told them that I was under GP for depression because of DVLA dragging heels. So my fault. I wasn't aware that depression or tablets for it were notifiable. When I checked on website I was amazed at qty of illnesses and medications that were notifiable!

At the time an elderly neighbour was driving his jag with two full cataracts!! So this really narked me too!! He said that he wasn't going to give up driving...

We have intentionally since my driving incident bought properties with easy access to shops, buses, hospitals. Pity others can't think to do the same. My parents included!!
 
donnellysdogs said:
Mine was purely because I told them that I was under GP for depression because of DVLA dragging heels. So my fault. I wasn't aware that depression or tablets for it were notifiable. When I checked on website I was amazed at qty of illnesses and medications that were notifiable!

At the time an elderly neighbour was driving his jag with two full cataracts!! So this really narked me too!! He said that he wasn't going to give up driving...

We have intentionally since my driving incident bought properties with easy access to shops, buses, hospitals. Pity others can't think to do the same. My parents included!!
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To be fair, maybe financial circumstance is a primary reason most folk can't afford a property in a "catchment area"..

Sorry to hear about your problems resolving the DVLA issue..
Are/where you under the GP for depression brought on by the DVLA?
 
Jaylee said:
To be fair, maybe financial circumstance is a primary reason most folk can't afford a property in a "catchment area"..

Sorry to hear about your problems resolving the DVLA issue..
Are/where you under the GP for depression brought on by the DVLA?
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I'm not rich either to afford a "catchment area"...... Just had to do it for my health!

I was actually living 10 miles away from DVLA offices at the time. I think I went on to citilopram for depression at the time...

Issues with DVLA were sorted!:)
 
donnellysdogs said:
I'm not rich either to afford a "catchment area"...... Just had to do it for my health!
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Lol. I know what your saying.. However. In my location now. Or even the city I was brought up in.
The only way most of us could pull that off is breaking in & "sqatting" while either the owners are wintering abroad/London during the week/second home on the coast.
.... or the students the property is let to are on a break.! ;)
 
We are pretty much "nomads"!! We've moved pretty much every 3 years (maximum) for the last 30 years. From Bournemoth to London to Midlands to Wales to East Anglia now. Solicitors and estate agents have all our money!!

A member of my family is too "stressed" to work as a Bank Manager. (Whilst he get full sick pay). He isn't too stressed to go out for weekends away or holidays or playing football.
However he has lived in the same large house for 'mega' years and will not a) consider moving job or b) move house and downsize.

To me health is more important than anything.

It makes me annoyed to be honest that my family member is just playing a game....

When someone is that "stressed" by job...sorry, you change job.
 
donnellysdogs said:
A member of my family is too "stressed" to work as a Bank Manager. (Whilst he get full sick pay). He isn't too stressed to go out for weekends away or holidays or playing football.
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Where i work, people are actively discouraged from making judgements like this.

Work stress is massively relieved by holidays, hobbies and getting out of the house.
Pressuring people who are already stressed into hiding in their homes, as if they are doing something wrong, is not helpful to them.

If that kind of comment were made at my work, the speaker would be investigated for workplace bullying.
 
Brunneria said:
Where i work, people are actively discouraged from making judgements like this.

Work stress is massively relieved by holidays, hobbies and getting out of the house.
Pressuring people who are already stressed into hiding in their homes, as if they are doing something wrong, is not helpful to them.

If that kind of comment were made at my work, the speaker would be investigated for workplace bullying.
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To me its not right that magically stress goes when sickpay runs out.

I have always been very sympathetic to persons suffering from depression and stress etc but at some point rather than hoping for redundancy then perhaps if a job is too stressful then a change of career should be considered. I have had to do it previously.....many persons change career because of stress, depression.
 
While I'm very aware that this is veering off topic, there's a few points that should really be addressed in regards to your post DD. Maybe it could come in a seperate post under the title "Scroungers"...
Do you have any idea how much SSP is? Do you think your relative is living it up while in receipt of it? Unless he has sat down with you and discussed how his workplace stress has affected him in his everyday life, how do you know how Ill he is? Have you had the discussion or are you making assumptions? His illness - and depression is an illness - manifests in different ways. How it affects him is between him and his doctor, unless he's shared the details with you.
You say you are sympathetic but you seem to be judgemental and I wonder why. It's not the first time I have commented on a post where you seem to be making judgements about others without knowing their personal circumstances.

Perhaps you should speak out to the people who are bothering you and tell them what you think of them? Might be beneficial in getting the full picture.
 
Glad to hear he has discussed his personal business with you. As he is a bank manager, and no doubt on an excellent salary, I'd love to know why he prefers under £90 per week, which is what SSP is - plus it is payable for a set period of time. But as you have the full picture, you'll know.
I guess these posts will be axed as off topic. Maybe they really should be addressed elsewhere but certain things just cannot be ignored.
 
Jaylee said:
All these medications & conditions are on the DVLA questionare though. They check this out with the GP..
It's strange this issue arose with your experience.. It's normally a straight forward process. (As long as ones "medical history" tallies up with the GP's.)
Click to expand...
My husband had to get a letter from the DVLA stating they were happy for him to drive after he had his pace-maker fitted before they were prepared to continue to insure him.
 
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