Doctors will be urged to report patients who are medically unfit to drive to the DVLA under new guidelines issued by the General Medical Council (GMC).
The guidance states that GPs will be obliged to tell the DVLA if a patient is driving against their medical advice, with elderly motorists expected to be among those most affected by the new rules.
Currently, doctors don’t require patients’ consent to inform the DVLA, which is legally responsible for deciding whether or not a person is medically fit to drive, when patients continue driving anyway.
However, the new guidelines come as part of a consultation on the GMC’s approach to confidentiality, which aims to help GPs balance ethical duties with public protection responsibilities.
Niall Dickson, the GMC’s chief executive, said: “This is difficult territory. Most patients will do the sensible thing but the truth is that a few will not and may not have the insight to realise that they are a risk to others behind the wheel of a car.
“A confidential medical service is a public good and trust is an essential part of the doctor-patient relationship. But confidentiality is not absolute and doctors can play an important part in keeping the wider public safe if a patient is not safe to drive.”
According to the GMC’s new guidelines, doctors must disclose patient information if they believe that there is a risk to either the patients themselves or the wider public.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “Thirty-seven million drivers depend on the car for getting about and for those with serious medical conditions there is a real fear around losing their licence.
“But with the right treatment, many illnesses will not lead to people having to hang up the keys. The worst thing motorists can do is ignore medical advice. If they don’t tell the DVLA about something that impacts on their ability to drive safely, then their GP will.”
Earlier this year, it emerged that hundreds of motorists have had their driving licences revoked thanks to new police powers which allows officers to ban drivers who fail roadside eye tests.
Dubbed ‘Cassie’s Law’ after Cassie McCord, who died in 2011 after being hit by an elderly driver who had previously failed a roadside eye test, has seen more than 600 drivers lose their licences since 2013.
