Likelihood of failing medical

[Mazdag]

Hey all,

Wondering if I can get some advice, back in July 2021 I was banned for drunk driving and also I am a high risk offender as I blew over double the limit, I’m due to have my ban lifted on the 20th of this month pending a medical however this is where it gets a bit tricky, around 4 months ago my family had forced me to check myself into hospital due to my mental health, the reason also being due to me having drunk very heavily that day locked away in my room. I wanted to atleast sober up before going however in a worried state they believed I needed to go urgently. Whilst there I was made to talk to number of doctors regarding my mental health and also my drinking. My family also explained that I don’t normally drink at all however recent to the time I had been locked away and had been drinking. Bow this was 4 months ago and I have moved away to a completely different city where I am much happier and further to this I have not drank since then. I do fear however that this being 4 months ago it will cause me to fail the medical and I will be declared of misusing alcohol, further to this i believe I’m right in saying that I will have to wait a period of time before I am allowed to do another medical. If the DVLA do classify me as misusing alcohol I believe they require 6 months proof of non drinking to be satisfied. My question is, do you think under these circumstances I will fail the medical? And if so will it be wise to wait an extra 2 months since the event to take my medical in order to meet that 6 month threshold in case I take it now, fail, and then have to wait even longer to get my license back?

 

[Honestman]

Hi mate which ever way you look at it once Dvla write out to your Gp they will have access to your medical history which will then prompt them to require 6/12 months off depending on your conditions including your mental health, if you were seen by a consultant they will want their input too, do be honest on the medical questionarre to start the Dvla medical process, it will take time to sort through this however you will get there with your GPs support, Dvla will be looking for medical evidence ( liver function test) to support your application, don’t put off your medical it takes a long time as it is the sooner the better, the chances of failing are quite high, however you have to fail to go forward and probably not from the cdt testing but from your medical history, good luck

 

[Mazdag]

Hi mate which ever way you look at it once Dvla write out to your Gp they will have access to your medical history which will then prompt them to require 6/12 months off depending on your conditions including your mental health, if you were seen by a consultant they will want their input too, do be honest on the medical questionarre to start the Dvla medical process, it will take time to sort through this however you will get there with your GPs support, Dvla will be looking for medical evidence ( liver function test) to support your application, don’t put off your medical it takes a long time as it is the sooner the better, the chances of failing are quite high, however you have to fail to go forward and probably not from the cdt testing but from your medical history, good luck

Thank you for you input honest man,

The area in which I seem to be hesitant is where it says that they will be looking for ‘persistent alcohol misuse’ this implies that it is a common occurrence however I believe in my case it was a one off unfortunate event in a otherwise largely clean history, however I am aware that the DVLA are quite strict in this sense. I have largely abstained from alcohol and frequently attended therapy provided by the NHS, I’m just trying to figure out the best game plan In order to minimise the risk of prolonging the timescale of getting my license back, like I say I hav been completely alcohol free for 4 months, another 2 and there will be no indication that I have misused alcohol, I fear that if I was to do the medical now, they will see that I was in hospital relating to alcohol 4 months ago, reject me and then tell me I have to wait another 6 months until I’m able to get it back, like I say I have never been dependant on alcohol however I have obviously missused alcohol

 

[Honestman]

Hmmm, so if you have alcohol support in place commonly known as medical evidence then this information will count towards you obtaining a license “albeit a 1 year medical review licence ( temp: 1 year), however “persistent alcohol misuse “ is one of the forms of alcohol dependence, as Dvla look at this as drinking consistently (persistent) as I was labelled back in 2018 and then classed alcohol dependant, Dvla use many variations when looking for alcohol dependence and to be quite honest with the Dvla there’s not a lot of difference between misuse/dependence, you won’t escape this alcohol history and if you think by waiting 6 months for misuse will see you in the clear when applying (and I do get where your coming from ) you could well be facing 12 months complete abstinence before Dvla will consider you for a license, speak with your Gp to see exactly what alcohol history is noted down for you ….

 

[Honestman]

Gather all the information from the hospital clinics you attend and Doctors name you see or have seen, Dvla will want this information going forward….

 

[Sundog]

Hi, sorry to hear of your troubles. Many of us have been there, and it’s amazing how many of us whom are/were HRO are suffering underlying mental anguish; that is a very common bedrock/precursor for binge ‘medicinal’ drinking. I do wish you luck with your recovery.

However, my view is that - sadly - with this most recent episode being a mere 4 months ago, it’s an ‘own goal’ as far as the medical is concerned.

All of the explanations and mitigation in the world, unfortunately, will not come across to the DVLA in the way you have quite honestly and eloquently (and perhaps with some difficulty) imparted here. In fact one of my biggest bugbears with the whole HRO process is how ‘gate system’ it in fact is, with literally no opportunity for explanation, reasoning, or any degree of discourse on the matter. Just so ‘black and white’.

And it’s because of the black-and-white nature of it all I suspect that they will simply take the easy - and in their view, safe - option of simply rejecting your application. Safety to them is paramount; they don’t respect honesty or character, and simply look at facts. And the (again unfortunate) fact here is that you binge drank 4 months ago, to the point of family and even medical intervention. I think deep down you know already that - both in print and via application - this just will not read well.

The big question here is whether 6 or 12 months will be the answer in terms of abstinence, and only your GP notes (and whether they - and indeed the GP when asked) will indicate this by either pointing to misuse or dependence. Certainly I would say this constitutes misuse.

So - first action up is to get your notes. Either direct from GP, or via the (easily accessible) NHS App. There are also other apps if the surgery with whom you’re registered don’t grant access immediately.

That may indicate which category you fall among, but if it doesn’t the next step will be to get GP onside. To have it actually put down in your notes that you’ve stopped, that any past bingeing was indeed misuse (or perhaps even a one-off) and not, say, a daily (or dependent) occurrence, and perhaps most importantly that - when s/he is (which s/he will be) consulted over this - you have the reassurance that they will answer the questionnaire sent to them in the light which reflects you best; i.e. hopefully misuse and not dependence.

Also, as HM rightly says above, it would also (I hope) reassure you that whatever your therapists have written about you isn’t going to derail your application in any way. He’s correct in that they too will be consulted as part of your application. It might be trickier to get them to change their account of events if it doesn’t read well, but at least you’re being proactive and have a chance to do this. Hopefully it won’t be necessary, and their appraisal of you is likely to be favourable.

So if you can do all of this relatively quickly, then maybe it gives you a chance to defer the medical due to some other excuse (e.g. COVID), without having to jump back to the start of the system and give rise to yet another lengthy wait. Maybe a deferral of 2 months will save you 6 or maybe even 12 later down the line.

Just my opinions, I hope they help. And good luck.

 

[Mazdag]

Hi, sorry to hear of your troubles. Many of us have been there, and it’s amazing how many of us whom are/were HRO are suffering underlying mental anguish; that is a very common bedrock/precursor for binge ‘medicinal’ drinking. I do wish you luck with your recovery.

However, my view is that - sadly - with this most recent episode being a mere 4 months ago, it’s an ‘own goal’ as far as the medical is concerned.

All of the explanations and mitigation in the world, unfortunately, will not come across to the DVLA in the way you have quite honestly and eloquently (and perhaps with some difficulty) imparted here. In fact one of my biggest bugbears with the whole HRO process is how ‘gate system’ it in fact is, with literally no opportunity for explanation, reasoning, or any degree of discourse on the matter. Just so ‘black and white’.

And it’s because of the black-and-white nature of it all I suspect that they will simply take the easy - and in their view, safe - option of simply rejecting your application. Safety to them is paramount; they don’t respect honesty or character, and simply look at facts. And the (again unfortunate) fact here is that you binge drank 4 months ago, to the point of family and even medical intervention. I think deep down you know already that - both in print and via application - this just will not read well.

The big question here is whether 6 or 12 months will be the answer in terms of abstinence, and only your GP notes (and whether they - and indeed the GP when asked) will indicate this by either pointing to misuse or dependence. Certainly I would say this constitutes misuse.

So - first action up is to get your notes. Either direct from GP, or via the (easily accessible) NHS App. There are also other apps if the surgery with whom you’re registered don’t grant access immediately.

That may indicate which category you fall among, but if it doesn’t the next step will be to get GP onside. To have it actually put down in your notes that you’ve stopped, that any past bingeing was indeed misuse (or perhaps even a one-off) and not, say, a daily (or dependent) occurrence, and perhaps most importantly that - when s/he is (which s/he will be) consulted over this - you have the reassurance that they will answer the questionnaire sent to them in the light which reflects you best; i.e. hopefully misuse and not dependence.

Also, as HM rightly says above, it would also (I hope) reassure you that whatever your therapists have written about you isn’t going to derail your application in any way. He’s correct in that they too will be consulted as part of your application. It might be trickier to get them to change their account of events if it doesn’t read well, but at least you’re being proactive and have a chance to do this. Hopefully it won’t be necessary, and their appraisal of you is likely to be favourable.

So if you can do all of this relatively quickly, then maybe it gives you a chance to defer the medical due to some other excuse (e.g. COVID), without having to jump back to the start of the system and give rise to yet another lengthy wait. Maybe a deferral of 2 months will save you 6 or maybe even 12 later down the line.

Just my opinions, I hope they help. And good luck.

Thank you honest man and sun dog for taking the time to discuss this with me, in your opinion will the 4 months of abstinence be accredited to the (I hope) 6 months of abstinence I have been required to provide? I do understand and agree with your opinion that the binge drinking 4 months ago will almost certainly cause me to fail the medical, however deferring my medical for 2 months does not seem like such a bad sacrifice. Depending (and I hope) on the GP and dvla constituting my hospital visit to misuse. I suppose only time will tell and whatever the outcome it’ll be something I’ll learn to deal with, my only concern however is that I am a car mechanic and a driving ban does not help in my line of work, perhaps also the dvla medical is in need of some form of reform to which a black and white questionnaire will not be the be all and end all