Declaring a medical condition to the DVLA

[topcatatwork]

I hope someone can clarify this. If you have told your doctor that you suffer from blackouts, is the GP obliged to inform the DVLA? Could the GP realistically, legally or professionally, say that he/she is doing you a favour by not making that declaration on your behalf? At which point would you need to inform your motor insurance company that you suffer from this condition?

[baza]

i would say that you should inform the dvla straight away, any medical condition that causes blackouts makes the person unsafe behind the wheel.

[THEMOTLEY1]

Like right now, with the best will in the world if you suffer from blackouts I don't want you driving anywhere me or mine.

[cathfromsaron]

straight away to both questions!

you could kill someone or yourself!

[topcatatwork]

Just to say, this is hypothetical...not about me. I wouldn't even consider going behind the wheel of a car if I suffered from blackouts. It's the bit about the GP's stance that I hoped someone would clarify.

[daffy654]

http://www.direct.gov...index.htm?indexChar=B

http://www.direct.gov.../MedicalA-Z/DG_185381

[daffy654]

The GP is not obligated to inform the DVLA, the patient is.

[cathfromsaron]

ah ok x

[baza]

to drive with an undeclared medical condition will make insurance invalid.

[mccfluff]

If you have an accident as a result of a blackout and you haven't informed dvla & yr insurance your insurance is invalidated.
And lets not forget the small matter of being a danger to yourself and others

[baza]

the onus is on the driver not the doctor to make the declaration.

[topcatatwork]

Thanks to everyone who has replied, but it's the bit about the GP I need some help with. Could he/she say I am doing you a favour by not reporting you to the DVLA? What is the medical profession's protocol here?

[cathfromsaron]

no, he is unlikely to say that!

would probably say that s/he stongly suggests that you don't drive until it's investigated ...

[baza]

which bit do you not understand, a person has blackouts the doctor treats the patient, the patient informs the dvla as they say nowadays end of.

[woofgang]

Gp's can "say" anything and some bad ones do. If a GP "said" that particular thing and it could be proven they IMO they would be laying themselves open to investigation and complaint.

[mccfluff]

The gp wouldn't be doing anyone a favour
You inform dvla, they contact yr doctor

[jno]

if he doesn't have to report you, he doesn't have to report you.

[daffy654]

He is not doing you a favour as it is not his place to make any declaration on your behalf in the first place. If he did say he was doing a favour I would wonder what his motivation was for this statement.

[woofgang]

It might have been in the context of an unwilling patient
"Look we really need to get this sorted out as it could affect your ability to drive....I mean I am actually doing you a favour not reporting you to the DVLA right now."
Still not true or acceptable but understandable.

[topcatatwork]

Thanks to everyone for their help...apart from baza. Replies like "which bit don't you understand" aren't helpful so probably best left out.....

[Graham-W]

Under the Doctor/patient confidentiality rules the doctor would not inform DVLA. He may "advise" you to contact them and your insurer but he wouldn't contact them himself.
Here is part of the Hippocratic Oath that all doctors swear to: "Whatever, in connection with my professional service, or not in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret."