Woman stripped of driving licence after GP ticks wrong box on form
Woman training to be truck driver is stripped of her driving licence after her GP ticks wrong box on form
- Paula Bartle, 53, from Bowburn, County Durham was left ‘sobbing’ at the mistake
- Ms Bartle is diabetic and needs to check her blood sugar levels before driving
- She is now unable to drive after her GP wrongly said she was not checking
A woman training to be a truck driver has been stripped of her driving licence after her GP ticked the wrong boxes on a form.
Paula Bartle, 53, had been training to be an HGV driver and needed to complete a medical check as part of her application.
After her doctor’s surgery filled in the form incorrectly, she was stripped of her driving licence and is now unable to drive at all; she can neither drive her own car, nor continue with truck-driving lessons.
Ms Bartle, who lives in Bowburn, County Durham, is diabetic and is required by the Driver and Vehicle License Agency (DVLA) to conduct frequent checks on her blood-sugar levels before driving.
Unfortunately, doctors wrongly said she has not been managing her condition on her medical form.
Paula Bartle (pictured above) was stripped of her driving licence after her GP ticked the wrong box on a medical form
The former finance worker said she is ‘lost’ without her car and is having to go to the supermarket with a neighbour.
Ms Bartle said: ‘I’m training to be a HGV driver and I needed to get a medical form from the doctors to get my provisional licence.
‘I gave the form to my doctors and asked them to show me before they sent it to the DVLA, because they’ve got stuff wrong with me before.
‘Then, when I got home the other Friday [March 31] after being out all day, I came home to a letter from the DVLA saying that my HGV licence had been stopped and my driving licence had been revoked.’
The letter said medical information received by the DVLA claimed she did not currently test her blood sugar levels twice daily or at times relevant to driving, and that she ‘must not drive’.
Ms Bartle added: ‘I have diabetes and you have to do blood sugar tests before driving, but the doctor said that I wasn’t doing my testing when I am.
‘They know I am because I go to the hospital for check-ups and they look at my levels.
‘I went to the surgery sobbing my heart out. They don’t realise the impact this has on me.
‘I have no family to help, so I’m lost without the car.
‘I’ve had to go to the supermarket with a neighbour and would normally take the dogs to the beach over the Easter weekend, but I can’t because I can’t drive anywhere.
‘The only place I could drive is up and down my own drive.’
After contacting her surgery, Bowburn Medical Group, they admitted a box had been ticked incorrectly on Ms Bartle’s medical form.
A letter sent by the surgery to the DVLA said: ‘It would appear that some boxes were ticked incorrectly on her form by one of my GP colleagues.’
Ms Bartle started her HGV course in January and only has a certain time to complete it.
She added: ‘I had been really enjoying the HGV course up to this point.
‘I’ve learned so much already and don’t want to give it up.’
A DVLA spokesperson said: ‘Safety is always at the heart of what we do. That’s why we assess medical conditions as part of driving licence applications, so that everyone can continue to drive safely.
‘Where we are made aware that incorrect information was provided, or where additional evidence shows the driver meets the medical standards to hold a licence, we will consider the reissue of a licence.’
Bowburn Medical Group was contacted for comment.
There is a global shortage of HGV drivers, with recent figures indicating that the UK still has almost 50,000 vacancies.
References
- ^ Abbie Llewelyn For Mailonline (www.dailymail.co.uk)