Road traffic accidents often involve drivers whose fitness to drive is impaired by a medical problem. These have involved impairment due to existing medical conditions, age, driving whilst taking prescription drugs, and drivers who have a known history of drug dependence.
It has been suggested that in these cases there appear to have been missed opportunities for the patient's doctor to discuss their driving status with them and/or report concerns to the DVLA. It has also been emphasised that medical professionals need to be aware of their duty to protect the public and of occasions where the public duty justifies the breach of professional confidentiality and may be particularly pertinent to HGV and PSV drivers.
Feedback from appraisers suggests that appraisees often find probity issues a difficult area to address and to provide supporting information of good practice.
This is an issue which all doctors are likely to encounter and we felt it would be useful to highlight this.
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This page was last updated on: 11/03/2022
