Taxi Driver Online

A interesting issue has occured here. Apparently 2 diabetic drivers have been told thet they now need a 6 monthly diabetic check but the doctors surgery only do 12 monthly checks. how is this going to pan out I wonder?

These checks are based on what? Suggest someone ask the council why they are now suddenly diabetes experts.

As for the practicalities, I suggest someone ask the council how their new rule can be complied with.

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IDFIMH

Are the diabetics on insulin or is it diet controled.
Suggest you look at the DVLA guidelines on diabetics and then formulate a response.

I'd guess it's maybe down to the individual circumstances of the two drivers rather than a blanket requirement, like lack of hypo awareness, or whatever (which I'd guess Grandad knows a lot more about than me).

And, of course, assuming the council uses the Group 2 standard, the requirements will be more onerous than for drivers with a standard DVLA licence.

And presumably if the local surgery won't do it then the drivers will be expected to go elsewhere.

And, Heathcote, there are different rules for those on medication other than insulin. Basically, I think some pills can potentially make you hypoglycemic like insulin (thus possibly passing out at the wheel), while other medications won't do that.

the majority of diabetics are on metformin to control it and normally you have a blood test every 6 months.

If they are on metformin there is no reason they can't pop to the surgery ebery 6 months and request a diabetes blood test form and go and get it done .

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

that is not what is being requested though. That would be simple. the council want the drivers to have a full diabetes check up every 6 months instead of annually but like most doctors practices they struggle to even do it annually so there is no chance of getting it done evey 6 months.

I think these 2 are on metformin. Obviously I have no idea if they are well controlled or not or if they are abiding by the testing rules.
for myself, I have not been requested to take a 6 month review yet but i had my annual review in December. I take Metformin and insulin for my type 2 diabetes but I do stick to the testing and recording regime and my sugar level is not to bad.

Slightly odd if they're only on metformin, because that's normally the first and most basic option in terms of medication. So at a rough guess I'd say there's less chance of complications developing, and no chance of a hypo. But who knows - I'd guess there must be some good clinical reason they're being singled out...

That is the only explanation i can think of. I do know that one of them did have a problem with testing and recording at one time but i would have thought he would have corrected that now because that was a couple of years ago.

Again I fail to see how a locl authority can over-ride national driving laws on this matter.

And again, Roy, I fail to see how they can't. And they're not overriding them, exactly - they're just tougher, and there's no conflict between the two sets of rules.

As long as there's no conflict, then what's the problem? It's like saying licensing authorities can't specify signage on an HC or PHV, or that they can't require stricter inspection regimes than the MoT test.

The whole point of regulating the trade is to impose rules over and above those required of normal cars and drivers

**UPDATE**
The drivers have been excused from complying on this occasion because..... wait for it......
There are no diabetic nurses employed at our only surgery. The last 2 left a few weeks ago.

I don’t agree, if councils adopt group 2 medicals they can’t change it. Also councils can’t change statutes.

Does it need a specific diabetic nurse to take blood? And surely a doctor can review the results and pass them on.

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IDFIMH

Not clear what they're actually looking for - as Sussex alludes, you don't need to be a specialist to perform a blood test and get the a basic result for blood sugar.

So maybe their needs and potential driving issues are more complex than the norm. But that's the thing - if there are issues that aren't routine, then you'd think they'd either be required to see a specialist, or bye-bye badge.

Don't want to sound harsh, but it sounds as logical as saying that you need to see a heart specialist after a heart attack before driving again, but if there's no specialists available then you're allowed back behind the wheel anyway

Maybe in actual fact Grandad's council were being a tad overzealous initially, and have now reconsidered and the drivers don't really need to see a specialist at all

Otherwise, from a 'safety is paramount' sort of angle, it just doesn't make sense.