Hi all,
Well today received a letter from the DVLA Medical saying they need my licence back and replacing it with a medical licence for 12 months for HGV and until 70 years of age for car.
If I didn’t return it they was going to revoke it full stop.
Reason is I’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea and it’s all under control by the sleep clinic so……
Is this process normal?
Do I have to go through this 12 months process every year?
Or will they after 12 months put it back to every 5 years?
Thanks all.
The situation will vary from case to case, depending on exactly what the consultant/clinic tells them.
But in most cases it’s simply a case of you confirming each year that there has been no change in your condition (and if they check with the clinic and discover you were fibbing, they’ll simply pull your licence altogether).
Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk
How can you fib when all the details from the machine gets sent to the consultant.
Sattalk:
How can you fib when all the details from the machine gets sent to the consultant.
You fib when at renewal time DVLA ask “has your condition changed” and you reply “No” when that’s not true.
Again, all the data DVLA get from my consultant so if I said no and it did change the lie would be exposed by data provided by the sleep clinic.
So no hiding or telling porkies.
Sattalk:
Again, all the data DVLA get from my consultant so if I said no and it did change the lie would be exposed by data provided by the sleep clinic.
So no hiding or telling porkies.
That’s pretty much exactly what I said at the outset.
This is what the DVLA publication Assessing Fitness to Drive states are the DVLA rules for a group 2 (HGV) licence for sleep apnoea syndrome:
“Licensing will require:
■ control of condition
■ sleepiness improved
■ treatment adherence
DVLA will need medical confirmation of the above, and the driver must confirm review to be undertaken annually at the minimum.”
So when DVLA review the case every year they will need evidence from a sleep clinic that:
The condition is controlled (in other words the driver is not stopping breathing many times a night while asleep). This information is taken from the digital download from the CPAP breathing machine.
That the sleepiness is improved. This information is obtained by the driver completing a questionnaire. It’s true that this depends on the honesty of the driver but if the driver is no longer stopping breathing whilst asleep and is following the treatment (see below) then obviously they won’t still have a problem with daytime sleepiness.
That the treatment plan is being followed. In other words that the driver is using the breathing mask for the required number of hours each night whilst asleep. Again, this is extracted from the digital download which is sent to the sleep clinic.
During the pandemic DVLA weren’t reviewing people annually but I think they are now getting back to the routine again.
Many thanks for the below info.
My current licence runs out June 23 so I’m presuming my 12 months review is due soon, well I hope so.
My sleep has improved massively and my scores are as low as 0.5, 1.00 and highest in the early days was 4.5.
Wished I did this a few years ago.
DrPhilThornley:
This is what the DVLA publication Assessing Fitness to Drive states are the DVLA rules for a group 2 (HGV) licence for sleep apnoea syndrome:
“Licensing will require:
■ control of condition
■ sleepiness improved
■ treatment adherence
DVLA will need medical confirmation of the above, and the driver must confirm review to be undertaken annually at the minimum.”
So when DVLA review the case every year they will need evidence from a sleep clinic that:
The condition is controlled (in other words the driver is not stopping breathing many times a night while asleep). This information is taken from the digital download from the CPAP breathing machine.
That the sleepiness is improved. This information is obtained by the driver completing a questionnaire. It’s true that this depends on the honesty of the driver but if the driver is no longer stopping breathing whilst asleep and is following the treatment (see below) then obviously they won’t still have a problem with daytime sleepiness.
That the treatment plan is being followed. In other words that the driver is using the breathing mask for the required number of hours each night whilst asleep. Again, this is extracted from the digital download which is sent to the sleep clinic.
During the pandemic DVLA weren’t reviewing people annually but I think they are now getting back to the routine again.