… Unless I can find a doctor prepared to give me a medical that doesn’t cost over a days pay out of my own pocket.
Anyone in the north kent area who knows of such a doctor, please msg me. 
http://www.doctorsonwheels.co.uk/ … hope this is less than a days pay
Looks promising; can anyone tell us the cost please?
£51 weekdays, £59 weekends
Hi I used 7 day Healthcare in Welling 0208 301 4664. Did it on a Saturday afternoon. Can’t remember the price but wasn’t expensive.
I used this Doctor when mine was due, I thought he was efficient and reasonable. He does quite a few vocational medicals: Dr Vibhuti 01622 679020 Situated in Allington opposite the Waitrose shop.
Give this place a try,done mine for the last few years 01634 408765 near you I think, at Borstal quite reasonable price!
If you have an HGV school nearby then it might be worth giving them a bell to see if they have anyone they recommend.
Or use driversmedicals.com/
work for stobarts,get medical paid for.
Why will you lose your licence ■■?
you never lose your intitlement to drive unless its taken by the courts or a doctor some drivers are being overlooked for medicals if they haven’t got a underlining medical problem ,we have a subby that works for us who is as genuine as they come he as just turned 45 and didn’t need a medical ,he spoke twice to the DVLA and he was told he didn’t need to have a medical and not to worry till they send the forms to him ,it also happened to one of our stock drivers who at the time was nearly 60 and was in a panic about his medical and was told the same thing by the DVLA he never got his forms through and was worried he spoke to them 3 times to be sure.
Many think the medical renewal goes on age but it actually goes on the expiry date shown on the licence
Letting a medical lapse simply suspends the LGV/PCV entitlement until it is renewed even if that is 20 years later
BIG AW:
Why will you lose your licence ■■?
you never lose your intitlement to drive unless its taken by the courts or a doctor some drivers are being overlooked for medicals if they haven’t got a underlining medical problem ,we have a subby that works for us who is as genuine as they come he as just turned 45 and didn’t need a medical ,he spoke twice to the DVLA and he was told he didn’t need to have a medical and not to worry till they send the forms to him ,it also happened to one of our stock drivers who at the time was nearly 60 and was in a panic about his medical and was told the same thing by the DVLA he never got his forms through and was worried he spoke to them 3 times to be sure.
I hope these guys are keeping an eye on the category expiry dates on the back of their licences. Relying on the renewal pack coming from DVLA is a little bit iffy for something this important.
As an example - driver came for CPC yesterday but couldn’t produce his licence - only digi card. I can accept the digi card as proof of ID but also have to check he has a valid category to upload against. He doesn’t even know where his licence is. When he got home last night he rang me with his NI number, I logged into the DVLA licence check (with his written consent!) and discover his cat CE & C expired October 2014. Rang him and told him and first words were (That’s DVLAs fault for not telling me". 
He’s on a five day CPC course all this week, so can’t get his medical done. Supposed to be starting a new job Monday driving CE … guess he won’t be now 
And of course when he gets the medical done he will have to wait for it to be processed because the category has actually expired.
I am surprised how many I meet who don’t check dates on their licences or even understand the rules around expiry and how many I meet with actual expired categories yet still driving. Shows they don’t check and neither do their employers.
A medical can be completed 3 months before expiry … not a good idea to leave it to the last minute.
But to the OP - surely the cost of a quality medical is justified if you can carry on earning with that licence? Of course I don’t know your financial situation but I am sure if it was me I would beg/steal/borrow to get my medical in place so I can continue earning.
Have to admit though - cost of the medical is ridiculous and it’s about time the Government subsidised it or did something about the cost.
ROG:
Many think the medical renewal goes on age but it actually goes on the expiry date shown on the licenceLetting a medical lapse simply suspends the LGV/PCV entitlement until it is renewed even if that is 20 years later
Correct ROG I thought you would know the subby renewed his just before his birthday so they told him he was not required to take a medical.
shep532:
BIG AW:
Why will you lose your licence ■■?
you never lose your intitlement to drive unless its taken by the courts or a doctor some drivers are being overlooked for medicals if they haven’t got a underlining medical problem ,we have a subby that works for us who is as genuine as they come he as just turned 45 and didn’t need a medical ,he spoke twice to the DVLA and he was told he didn’t need to have a medical and not to worry till they send the forms to him ,it also happened to one of our stock drivers who at the time was nearly 60 and was in a panic about his medical and was told the same thing by the DVLA he never got his forms through and was worried he spoke to them 3 times to be sure.I hope these guys are keeping an eye on the category expiry dates on the back of their licences. Relying on the renewal pack coming from DVLA is a little bit iffy for something this important.
As an example - driver came for CPC yesterday but couldn’t produce his licence - only digi card. I can accept the digi card as proof of ID but also have to check he has a valid category to upload against. He doesn’t even know where his licence is. When he got home last night he rang me with his NI number, I logged into the DVLA licence check (with his written consent!) and discover his cat CE & C expired October 2014. Rang him and told him and first words were (That’s DVLAs fault for not telling me".
He’s on a five day CPC course all this week, so can’t get his medical done. Supposed to be starting a new job Monday driving CE … guess he won’t be now
I am surprised how many I meet who don’t check dates on their licences or even understand the rules around expiry and how many I meet with actual expired categories yet still driving. Shows they don’t check and neither do their employers.
A medical can be completed 3 months before expiry … not a good idea to leave it to the last minute.
But to the OP - surely the cost of a quality medical is justified if you can carry on earning with that licence? Of course I don’t know your financial situation but I am sure if it was me I would beg/steal/borrow to get my medical in place so I can continue earning.
Have to admit though - cost of the medical is ridiculous and it’s about time the Government subsidised it or did something about the cost.
Correct mate but the OP will still not lose his licence or intitlement to drive an hgv if he doesent take a medical its just suspended
BIG AW:
Correct mate but the OP will still not lose his licence or intitlement to drive an hgv if he doesent take a medical its just suspended
Yeah allright - its a play on words. He will lose the ability to driver that particular category until he renews the medical. So yes - you are right
shep532:
A medical can be completed 3 months before expiry … not a good idea to leave it to the last minute.
Doing medical early with mean the new 5 years will start from the issue date and not from the current expiry date
Thanks for the replies folks. I’m going to start making some phone calls now.
My upset with all this was that such medicals cannot be done on the NHS, as if we’re all BUPA-member card-carrying toffs or something. I was disappointed over just how little I get for the NH contributions we pay that’s all.
With the recent Glasgow dumpster incident - I didn’t want to wangle it so I “got around” taking a medical for another five years just to save a few quid.
I was alarmed at my own GP quoting me £120 
for the neighbourhood version of this medical.
My C+E entitlement doesn’t actually expire for another fortnight, but I’ve only just turned 50 and only got all the forms come through this month.
You might have been able to use the once only change photo thing and then take the free NHS well man medical and a free eye test
ROG:
shep532:
A medical can be completed 3 months before expiry … not a good idea to leave it to the last minute.Doing medical early with mean the new 5 years will start from the issue date and not from the current expiry date
True - but leaving it late can cause problems. Better to know you are sorted than leave it too late. Of course you can have the medical done early and not send the forms away …
As I have said above, I have a driver in a CPC course this week whos moaning at ME because his licence has expired. Its everyone’s fault but his. He didn’t keep his address up to date so didn’t receive the reminder and didn’t keep an eye on expiry dates.