As part of the DVLA’s strategy to enhance and expedite the medical licencing process, specialists nurses and optometrists are among the healthcare professionals who can now complete DVLA medical questionnaires.
A wider range of certified healthcare providers, aside from doctors, can now be authorised to offer information where a motorist has declared a medical condition, thanks to an amendment to the Road Traffic Act of 1988 that takes effect today.
All drivers are required by law to be physically fit enough to operate a vehicle. Other healthcare providers who frequently assist with patient care, such nurses or opticians, are now permitted by this legal change to complete DVLA medical forms after a doctor has deferred them.
It will be up to individual GP practices and hospital teams to decide which healthcare professional in practice is most suited to complete the form once the DVLA continues to distribute questionnaires to GMC doctors and consultants.
Baroness Vere, minister for roads, said:
A driver’s licence application or renewal procedure should always be quick, easy, and effective.
To speed up the medical licencing process and reduce the pressure on GPs, we are allowing additional healthcare practitioners to complete DVLA medical questionnaires.
Julie Lennard, CEO of the DVLA, said:
The number of driver applications for medical licences that we get each year is rising.
The process for notifying the DVLA of medical conditions is improved thanks to this law change, which expands the pool of healthcare professionals who are qualified to complete DVLA questionnaires.
It also lessens the administrative burden on doctors, which is advantageous for both drivers and the NHS.
Only medical professionals who were members of the General Medical Council (GMC) could previously fill out the questionnaires.
Although GP offices and hospital teams are not required to alter their current procedures, the legislation change now permits medical professionals from the following Councils to answer medical questionnaires on doctors’ behalf:
Council for General Chiropractic
Optical Council General
There is a General Osteopathic Council.
The Council for Nursing and Midwifery in the Health and Care Professions
The D4 Medical Examination Report will continue to require completion by a physician or consultant who is registered with the GMC in spite of the law’s modification.