Changes to DVLA’s At a Glance guide
30 March 2016
A guide that helps medical professionals such as GPs, consultants, nurses and optometrists assess their patients’ fitness to drive has been given a major update by DVLA as part of its wide-ranging plans to improve its services for medical professionals and drivers.
In March, ‘Assessing Fitness to Drive: A Guide for Medical Professionals’ will replace the At a Glance guide. ‘At a Glance’ has been in use for more than 25 years, helping practitioners make informed decisions when talking to patients about conditions which may affect their ability to drive. But we know it’s become a little dated and awkward to use. Feedback from medical professionals clearly identified a need for an overhaul.
That’s why the revised guide is clearer and easier to navigate. We’ve worked with GPs, nurses and consultants to make sure the guidelines give clear and consistent advice. The guide includes new and updated advice on a number of medical conditions, including loss of consciousness and sleep apnoea and it makes it clearer whether DVLA needs to be contacted or not. It’s important to point out that while there are a number of conditions which must be reported to the DVLA, it doesn’t mean a patient will lose their licence if they suffer from that health condition. The majority will be able to keep their entitlement either on a full licence or a short-term licence.
The guide also includes advice on when DVLA does not need to be informed of a medical condition, such as driving after surgery and the use of certain medications.
The new guide forms part of DVLA’s ongoing plans to improve its services for medical professionals and drivers. These include a brand new digital service for drivers to go online to tell DVLA about a medical condition that may affect their driving – this means, in time, there should no more paper forms to fill in and send through the post. This new service will be quick and easy to use and, in some cases, should improve processing times. The plan is to test the service with the public in the summer.
The new guide is available online to all healthcare professionals at www.gov.uk/dvla/fitnesstodrive