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20/10/2016

‘Major failings’ in DVLA medical fitness to drive cases

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is not making fair decisions about medical fitness-to-drive cases, a report has suggested.

It said people’s lives had been put on hold for years because of flawed decision-making and poor communication.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report found “major failings” in eight drivers’ cases.

The DVLA said the vast majority of cases it handles are dealt with swiftly and correctly.

Criticisms in the report are directed at the Drivers’ Medical Group – the part of the DVLA which considers whether drivers with a medical condition are safe to drive.

The DMG makes between 600,000 and 750,000 licensing decisions every year and around 10% of those are complex cases dealt with by medical experts.

The report looked at eight complaints in detail which were received by the ombudsman between 2014 and 2015.

These all concerned people with complex medical conditions who were unfairly prevented from driving, sometimes for several years, the ombudsman’s report said.

The report found “major failings”, including evidence of flawed decisions, significant delays, poor communication and complaint handling in those cases.

And it said it was concerned that other people had also been treated unfairly and that the same mistakes could be repeated.

CREDIT BBC NEWS