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Some people think that only your NHS GP should carry out a driver medical because they have your medical records – but rest assured, a D4Drivers medical carried out by one of our vastly experienced doctors covers all the bases and leaves nothing to chance.
We have been carrying out driver medicals for more than seven years and are the largest driver medical provider in the UK, trusted by more than 5,000 drivers every month to complete their group 2 driver medical.
We prepare our patients for their medical by ensuring they bring all relevant medical information and medications, hospital letters and consultant details, which means our doctors can very quickly gauge someone’s health when they attend their medical with us, even if they have not visited our doctors before. Also, our doctors are well trained and drilled in obtaining the right information being experienced in this work.
A group 2 medical consists of a vision assessment, a blood pressure check and a health review focused around conditions that may affect safe driving, whilst the examining doctor is invited by DVLA to note any conditions or concerns not covered during specific sections of the form, at the end in an ‘additional details’ section.
It is also important to bear in mind that this medical is used as a screening tool by the DVLA as part of the licensing process. If there are any medical concerns, the DVLA will then refer the driver to their local appointed specialist concerned with the relevant area of medicine, to conduct further testing, thus ensuring that the level of fitness required is met.
All of our doctors are fully GMC registered and licensed, as well as being indemnified to complete driver medicals. We go above and beyond DVLA’s requirements of simply requiring a doctor to complete the medical, and instead we ensure all of our doctors are trained and signed off by our medical director or one of our senior doctors, all of whom have completed more than 1,000 driver medicals.
We also engage the services of an independent mystery shopping service which helps ensure that our service is consistent across our 85 clinic locations, and invite all our customers to review our service and provide feedback about their experience.
Nowadays, people are not often allocated one particular GP at their NHS surgery so their GP may not be familiar with them, and their medical may be completed in between a clinic full of ill patients with various conditions that need treating. Our sole focus is HGV, bus and taxi drivers who require Group 2 driver medicals and as such our clinics are dedicated to them.
The driver holds ultimately responsibility for ensuring they have been honest with our doctor about any health conditions, signing the last page of the medical form to confirm that they understand it’s a criminal offence not to share any medical information upon questioning by the doctor. Signing the medical form also enables the DVLA to contact the driver’s own GP if they deem any follow up necessary.
We have seen occasions where the DVLA contacts a driver’s own GP to verify medical information, so this process is monitored and checked.
Unfortunately, in today’s world, NHS GPs are very busy and often not able to assist patients who require a driver’s medical for their licence – a situation exacerbated by COVID-19 with waiting lists getting longer, and when drivers do get an appointment with their own GP it is often at an inconvenient time.
We are proud to offer a service which relieves the NHS of some of the pressure they are facing, especially during this challenging time, providing a cost-efficient service and appointments at times to suit drivers including evenings and weekends. This is why we have frozen our prices during the pandemic, putting drivers first!