Finally heard from the DVLA

[Pennyc]

Well after months of chasing the DVLA up on looking at my dads records to see what’s happening with his license, a letter arrived yesterday asked him to make contact with his Dr for a medical.
Can anyone tell me what happens at these medical s that drs do?

 

[Grannie G]

Can anyone tell me what happens at these medical s that drs do?

I don`t know but imagine it will include an eye test and a cognitive assessment.

 

[Andbreathe]

Well after months of chasing the DVLA up on looking at my dads records to see what’s happening with his license, a letter arrived yesterday asked him to make contact with his Dr for a medical.
Can anyone tell me what happens at these medical s that drs do?

I would be interested to know what happened at this medical as my dad has also received a letter from the DVLA asking him to arrange a medical at his GP.

 

[Sue741215]

I am not he person who posted originally but thought I'd let you know what happened in my husband's case.

I think it could depend on level of dementia and also individual doctor but I can imagine if any doubt most will refer you to memory clinic who will if deemed necessary refer you to driver assessment. My husband was driving daily and coping with motorways etc but having already been diagnosed with Alzheimers following a scan for an eye tumour was sent for a further scan. This led to a referral for a driver assessment which he failed due to not using mirrors ( and probably for not following instructions) despite the fact that he had driven 500 miles the previous week without incident. I got the impression that the memory nurse was surprised that he had been able to drive after she had seen the second scan. I had encouraged him to drive to keep up his skills and he did drive a lot without incident but it was only afterwards I realised how I had been on tenterhooks all the time he was driving.

He was someone who absolutely loved driving, had been a sales rep for years driving all over the country and abroad and was amazed and full of disbelief when he was told to stop. When I found he had driven I had to take his car and sell it without telling him. The point of telling this part is that amazingly after 2 or 3 months when he had hoped to get back his licence he has settled down and now still loves going out in the car and does not seem to mind being driven.

I appreciate this is just my experience and other people may have different experiences and of course have different levels of dementia but hope it is helpful.

 

[Andbreathe]

I am not he person who posted originally but thought I'd let you know what happened in my husband's case.

I think it could depend on level of dementia and also individual doctor but I can imagine if any doubt most will refer you to memory clinic who will if deemed necessary refer you to driver assessment. My husband was driving daily and coping with motorways etc but having already been diagnosed with Alzheimers following a scan for an eye tumour was sent for a further scan. This led to a referral for a driver assessment which he failed due to not using mirrors ( and probably for not following instructions) despite the fact that he had driven 500 miles the previous week without incident. I got the impression that the memory nurse was surprised that he had been able to drive after she had seen the second scan. I had encouraged him to drive to keep up his skills and he did drive a lot without incident but it was only afterwards I realised how I had been on tenterhooks all the time he was driving.

He was someone who absolutely loved driving, had been a sales rep for years driving all over the country and abroad and was amazed and full of disbelief when he was told to stop. When I found he had driven I had to take his car and sell it without telling him. The point of telling this part is that amazingly after 2 or 3 months when he had hoped to get back his licence he has settled down and now still loves going out in the car and does not seem to mind being driven.

I appreciate this is just my experience and other people may have different experiences and of course have different levels of dementia but hope it is helpful.

Thanks Sue 741215, I think my dad is reasonably okay at the moment, and it will be a real blow if he is told to stop driving as mum voluntarily stopped driving about 6 months ago. Both have Alzheimer's. I would like him to be able to continue driving as long as he remains safe to give them some independence.

 

[Andbreathe]

Just in case it's helpful anyone else to know, my dad had the DVLA medical with his GP. I think they are tailored to individual medical issues. He has heart disease, so the GP spent a while checking his heart, blood pressure and pulse in his feet (!). For his Alzheimer's, she gave him a mini memory test with the usual questions about the news, asked him to recall a name and address after a short time, and got him to do the clock drawing exercise - which he didn't quite manage perfectly, but the GP said it was good enough as he had done everything else okay and had managed to hold a reasonable conversation with her. So, fingers crossed he will get his license renewed for a bit longer.