DVLA medical condition.

adandem

Hope someone can help.
In June of this year I fainted at work, I visited my GP who did an ECG and bloods etc.
He didn't tell me not to drive, just check the DVLA guidelines which said that it was okay to drive.
I was sent for further tests as a precaution, at the cardiology unit. Again all clear.
However, the senior nurse who took my history said that because I didn't say I felt unwell before fainting, I would have to give up my licence for 6 months.
I did feel unwell and would definitely have pulled over had I been driving.
She said the consultant would make this a recommendation, no further investigation is being made.
My questions are this:
Will my GP have to follow the recommendation?
Will I get fined for driving for 3 months already?

If I thought for one minute I was a risk, I would not contest the decision.

Biggles

I can't answer your question but may well be in the same boat. At the end of Jun, I passed out; they did all the same tests as they did for you and said they'd put it down as a faint and call it a 'one-off'.

However, last week it happened again. I'm now going to various specialists in the hope they can pin it down. In the meantime, I'm surprised not to have been told not to drive; however, I'm leaving it on my driveway until more is known about whatever ails me.

sheramber

You should ask your doctor if you should stop driving or contact DVLA

https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-and-driving

You can drive until the DVLA decide if you should stop driving.

AdrianC

You certainly won't be fined for driving since then.

If your licence is being withdrawn on medical grounds, then it's for good reasons. If you WERE to lose consciousness behind the wheel, think of the consequences, both for yourself and for others.

[Deleted User]

From personal experience of the DVLA medical centre, don't ring them up asking for advice. You won't get any, the call centre is staffed with non-medical types who are under strict orders not to transfer you to anyone in authority. If there's any hint that you're unfit (why else would you be ringing) they'll confiscate your licence on the spot and then you'll be without it whilst the cogs of the system grind.

The DVLA site says:

"Ask your doctor if your blackouts, fainting (syncope) or loss of consciousness affect your driving. You must tell DVLA if your condition affects your driving."

so you need an explicit decision from your doctor.

If he answers the question I'd recommend you get it in writing, if he doesn't you'll need to fill in the form and send it off. When I did this there was no problem, the DVLA wrote back saying I could keep my licence after they'd got a decision from the NHS.

At least if you send the form off you've covered your backside by putting the ball in their court, and you get to keep your licence whilst they're making a decision.

adandem

jack_pott wrote: »

From personal experience of the DVLA medical centre, don't ring them up asking for advice. You won't get any, the call centre is staffed with non-medical types who are under strict orders not to transfer you to anyone in authority. If there's any hint that you're unfit (why else would you be ringing) they'll confiscate your licence on the spot and then you'll be without it whilst the cogs of the system grind.

The DVLA site says:

"Ask your doctor if your blackouts, fainting (syncope) or loss of consciousness affect your driving. You must tell DVLA if your condition affects your driving."

so you need an explicit decision from your doctor.

If he answers the question I'd recommend you get it in writing, if he doesn't you'll need to fill in the form and send it off. When I did this there was no problem, the DVLA wrote back saying I could keep my licence after they'd got a decision from the NHS.

At least if you send the form off you've covered your backside by putting the ball in their court, and you get to keep your licence whilst they're making a decision.

Sadly I rang them after visiting the hospital.
The thing which is really bothering me is the consultant didn't even see me, it was one of the senior nurses and that the recommendation is being made purely on the aspect of not mentioning that I felt unwell prior to the faint. She said so herself.
So, I have to give the name of the consultant (who will clearly say no) and my GP who will probably go along with the consultant to cover themselves.
Also, the only form I have received is the one to return my licence?

Johno100

Reading the horror stories of how long it can take to get your licence back once you are cleared to drive again. If I was advised to stop driving for a period I'd put my licence and car keys in a drawer and leave them until I could drive again, technically illegal but I'd be extremely unlucky to be prosecuted for it.

adandem

From what I gather, I have to send my licence to the DVLA and they access my medical records and decide how long it's revoked for (which of course will be the six months that the consultant recommends )

[Deleted User]

What did the DVLA say, have they told you to return your licence? You should have received a letter from them if that's what they're asking you to do. It starts with something like "Thank you for informing us that you're no longer driving......" (even if that's not what you actually said). Have you spoken to the consultant, or are you just going by what a nurse predicts he will say?

If you haven't been told to stop driving by the DVLA or a doctor, send them the declaration form and then you're covered. The ball's then in their court, you've told them what's wrong and it's their job to make a decision and inform you of it. Meanwhile you still have your licence.

My experience of the NHS is that they don't want the responsibility of making a decision, so the consultant might be using the nurse as a mouthpiece so that he can have it both ways, manipulating you into feeling that you have to surrender your licence without actually saying so.

adandem

I'm going to see my GP later, I didn't even get to see the consultant, only the senior nurse. She said that they would recommend that I don't drive for 6 months, due to the fact that I didn't say I felt unwell, when I did. I'm not sure if that's an absolute or my GP has any say?
The letter says "thank you for letting us know about the change in your health" and 'option of surrendering a driving licence or consent to medical enquiries '.
I'm not sure that if I don't surrender voluntarily, they'll be harsher? Also, they'll see the consultant recommendation and be led by that i feel.

HP_Source

I can't comment on your medical situation but, having gone through this myself, I can perhaps help when it comes to the choice between voluntarily surrendering your licence or letting the DVLA make their medical enquiries.

The difference comes when your medical advisers consider you're fit to drive again. If the DVLA have withdrawn your licence you will have to wait for them to make further medical enquiries and come to a decision. I don't know what the delay is now but when it happened to me in January the delay was typically around 4 months.

However if you have voluntarily surrendered your licence you can complete a fresh licence application and the DVLA medical questionnaire and send them off to the DVLA together with the written confirmation from your medical advisers that they consider you fit to drive. As soon as the DVLA have received them you can start to drive again. You do not have to wait for the DVLA to make a decision.