Epilepsy and reapplying for your license...

[SBDJ]

Hi all,

After some advice here as I'm trying to help an upset friend out with her licence. She was diagnosed with epilepsy a while back and will have been seizure free for a year on Wednesday. She followed the DVLA's instructions and reapplied for her licence in December but as yet the DVLA have not received a response from her consultant.

She's chased her consultant repeatedly to be told various excuses including that he's on holiday, that it's in his urgent pile, that it will be done imminently and that his secretary can only ask him to do it. A week or so ago she received another letter from the DVLA saying that they are sending her consultant a reminder and that they can't progress the application until he responds.

PALS have emailed the consultant to try and help, but he seems to have gone on holiday for the second time this year. She is considering lodging a formal complaint against her consultant as she feels that his is taking the proverbial now, but I was wondering if there is anything else she can do to push the situation along?

Edited by SBDJ on Monday 15th February 14:40

[AndrewEH1]

Maybe going to his office and asking personally?

[PurpleMoonlight]

LICENCE

[SBDJ]

Sorry PurpleMoonlight, I've corrected that minor grammatical mistake (except for the thread title). Thankyou for your valuable input

She's planning to visit his office when he returns from this holiday.

Edited by SBDJ on Monday 15th February 14:42

[Riley Blue]

It took six weeks for my O/H's consultant to reply to the DVLA under similar circumstances. She'd been without her licence for five years and had been seizure free for twelve months. The DVLA granted her a three-year licence when they returned it. Hope it works out OK.

[rayny]

OP - I wish your partner the best of luck - I had similar circumstances in the 1970's and all worked out OK.

However, she must be seizure free for 12 months - nobody can properly submit the report until the 12 months are up, so there is no point in stressing about it and wasting peoples time until the year is up.

[SBDJ]

Not my partner, I'm single

My reading shows that you have to be seizure free for 12 months, however you can start the application process 8 weeks prior and they can actually grant you permission to drive as of that date if all goes OK. The fact that the DVLA are having to chase the consultant and send him a reminder (it's been over 6 weeks since they initially contacted him) shows that he is holding the process up.

Thanks for the input everyone, I suspect she will be paying a visit to the consultant on his return as I'm told not long after that he's off again for his third 2 week holiday this year so far!

[Riley Blue]

OP - you're absolutely right, you may apply for a licence to be returned before the due date, up to eight weeks before my O/H was told - by the DVLA.

[jm doc]

Not sure that it has to be your Consulatnat. I think your GP can do this as well.

[moorx]

SBDJ said:

My reading shows that you have to be seizure free for 12 months, however you can start the application process 8 weeks prior and they can actually grant you permission to drive as of that date if all goes OK.

Yes, that's correct. I reapplied for (and received) my licence several weeks before the 12 months was up, I just couldn't drive until the 12 month period was over.

It was my GP that was contacted (I didn't see a consultant) but this probably depends on the circumstances. If I'd been referred to hospital, I suspect it would have been a consultant that the DVLA dealt with.