Anyone passed the medical?

[Changedman2]

Hi just wondering anyone on here who was HRO that passed the medical without the DVLA writing to there GP recently?

 

[mle1230]

Hi I'd also like to know the likelihood of them contacting your GP if you were to pass the CDT in the 'green' level if anyone has any experience of this it would be great to hear??

 

[BraveDave23]

I’d hope that they only contact your gp if you’re in the questionable amber level, but for peace of mind myself I’m just abstaining from alcohol completely till after my medical, then they’ll have no reason at all to delay things further by contacting my gp.

 

[neebob200]

I’d hope that they only contact your gp if you’re in the questionable amber level, but for peace of mind myself I’m just abstaining from alcohol completely till after my medical, then they’ll have no reason at all to delay things further by contacting my gp.

How long do you think it's worth abstaining for before your medical.

 

[BraveDave23]

That’s a good question, different sources give different answers, anywhere between 2 weeks and 12 weeks! It depends on how much you currently drink. So if you don’t drink much (let’s say within the recommended weekly intake) a couple of weeks should bring you down to near 0. But if your an alcoholic and drink a bottle of whiskey a day then it might take 12 weeks. Now the DVLA aren’t doing medicals for the next 4 weeks anyway, so even though I only usually have about 4 pints a week, I’m just not having a drop till then, then I’ll be near 0. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Recovered22]

They wrote to my GP and my bloods were fine and well within the green zone. Everyone I know personally (which is quite a few people through AA) who has had a HRO medical has had their GP contacted this last year since the new rules.

A lot of them had no mention of their drinking on file with their GP as they had self referred to AA, but the ones who did have drink issues on file with the GP had to show abstainance in order to get their licences back.

 

[BraveDave23]

They wrote to my GP and my bloods were fine and well within the green zone. Everyone I know personally (which is quite a few people through AA) who has had a HRO medical has had their GP contacted this last year since the new rules.

A lot of them had no mention of their drinking on file with their GP as they had self referred to AA, but the ones who did have drink issues on file with the GP had to show abstainance in order to get their licences back.

Ah great, well I look forward to being delayed even longer then! How long did it take from when you had your medical till when you actually got your license back?

 

[Thechief5]

I’ve had two DVLA medicals (both green - 0.7%) and on both occasions they wrote to my GP. The medical is only one element of the process, and I’d be surprised if they decided not to contact the GP of anyone who is a HRO, regardless of the current backlogs. After all, passing the medical is possible, even if you have ongoing drink issues

 

[Recovered22]

Ah great, well I look forward to being delayed even longer then! How long did it take from when you had your medical till when you actually got your license back?

My medical was on the 22nd of June 2019 and my licence was issued on the 8th of August 2019, temporary licence issued too so I get to go through it all again. Just 2 days under 7 weeks, the time frame to hear after the medical is up to 8 weeks.

 

[Thechief5]

Just to add to that, I had a medical 12th March 2019 and license was issued 15th May. It does of course depend on how efficient your GP is (mine was painfully slow with any DVLA correspondence)

 

[BraveDave23]

Well I’ll be interested to see if they do decide they have to write to my GP. Looking at the letter they sent me it says:
“We expect to receive the results within 21 days and aim to make a licensing decision within 4 weeks of receiving the results. There are occasions when it is not possible for us to do this as we may need to write to your doctor for further information.”
If abstaining from alcohol for at least 4 weeks takes me as near 0 as I expect and they still decide to contact my GP I’ll have something to say about that!

 

[Recovered22]

Well I’ll be interested to see if they do decide they have to write to my GP. Looking at the letter they sent me it says:
“We expect to receive the results within 21 days and aim to make a licensing decision within 4 weeks of receiving the results. There are occasions when it is not possible for us to do this as we may need to write to your doctor for further information.”
If abstaining from alcohol for at least 4 weeks takes me as near 0 as I expect and they still decide to contact my GP I’ll have something to say about that!

DVLA beurocracy mate, it's like shouting into the wind. All the courts side with the DVLA's decisions, the process is designed to make sure HRO's aren't a continued risk of the road and part of that is them making enquires with your GP to see if theres any alcohol issues. It was a painful wait but there was no way around it.