DVLA and Medical Conditions

WelshBlue

I didn't want to hijack @BrettW's thread but did want to point out the DVLA can be surprisingly compassionate and quick in sorting out medical conditions

My daughter has her capability to hold a C1 licence reviewed every year due to her MS.
For the second year running she's had to come off the road as a Paramedic 

On hearing her Consultant Neurologist  had cancelled 2 appointments they paid her GP to do the report, fast-tracked it through and she received her C1 back within 7 days of the medical.  They've also told her they'll start the annual review 2 months early so there's continuity for her work 

 So credit where credit is due.  Sometimes a government department can show a human side

Albus_Scope

Well said @WelshBlue, I always try to go into any situation with a neutral mindset.  You may well get that good egg helping you. I hear there's plenty of them about.  

BrettW

WelshBlue said:

I didn't want to hijack @BrettW's thread but did want to point out the DVLA can be surprisingly compassionate and quick in sorting out medical conditions

My daughter has her capability to hold a C1 licence reviewed every year due to her MS.
For the second year running she's had to come off the road as a Paramedic 

On hearing her Consultant Neurologist  had cancelled 2 appointments they paid her GP to do the report, fast-tracked it through and she received her C1 back within 7 days of the medical.  They've also told her they'll start the annual review 2 months early so there's continuity for her work 

 So credit where credit is due.  Sometimes a government department can show a human side

To be honest most of the people who work there do tend to be be extremely helpful but the DVLA itself is extremely archaic and has been highly criticised for it. 

A number of their CS staff tried to sort out my license quicker but were simply unable to due to their systems being outdated and inflexible. 

If you can sort out your license online then the system works extremely quickly but the second you have to send them anything in a paper format that is when the problems start. I was actually informed by one of their staff that the target to open mail is up to 10 days then up to another 10 days to actually log it on their system. The lady who informed me of this was highly apologetic and basically stated she herself thought this timeline was unacceptable but thats what they were stuck with.

In the modern age there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever to rely on a paper based system like this and in my case as an example it added 5 weeks to the whole process.

These issues are what the parliamentary committee highlighted and basically declared that the systems in place are archaic and unfit for purpose and that the DVLA is not in a position to provide their services if another situation like the pandemic should arise.

They have made recommendations that the DVLA need to revamp a lot of their processes but almost 12 months down the line none of this has yet been done but i believe there is a timeline by which they have to bring these new practices into play.

Hopefully it won't be too long until we finally have an organisation that is fit for purpose