Patients told wrong driving rules

Patients could be driving again much sooner than doctors tell them

Doctors treating heart patients are unaware of the rules saying when they can drive again, research has found.

They only answered a third of the questions on the current Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) regulations correctly.

Doctors tended to over-estimate how long people should stop driving for.

Nottingham City Hospital researchers said although this was safe, it put unnecessary restrictions on people's lives.

Most of the mistakes came because people over-estimated the restrictions on driving Dr Grant Heatlie, Nottingham City Hospital

People who have been treated for a range of conditions including epilepsy and cardiac conditions face restrictions on their driving when they are discharged because their illness could affect their ability to drive safely.

Information on which conditions are covered by the regulations are detailed on the DVLA's website.

Epilepsy

Researchers surveyed 130 general physicians , who tend to treat patients who have suffered heart attacks and 21 cardiac nurses working in three English hospitals.

They were asked when patients with cardiac conditions including heart attacks, angina and those given pacemakers were allowed to drive again.

They were also asked about driving restrictions for patients who had suffered a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), a mini stroke, or the first epileptic seizure.

It was found that doctors only answered 30% of questions about rules for patients with cardiac conditions correctly.

Only 28% knew a patient could resume driving four weeks after having a TIA.

But three quarters of doctors were aware of the regulations about driving after a first epileptic seizure.

The more senior the doctor, the more likely they were to answer questions correctly.

Cardiac nurses were better informed about driving regulations, answering 53% of questions correctly.

Doctors' training has been changed recently to encompass DVLA regulations.

The researchers say this, plus better IT support in hospitals to enable doctors to check the DVLA website, will improve their knowledge.

School-run

Cardiologist Dr Grant Heatlie, who led the research, told BBC News Online: "We were aware that there were inconsistencies in the advice given to patients.

"In our research, we found most of the mistakes came because people over-estimated the restrictions on driving.

"They were erring on the side of safety, but of course if a patient is told not to drive for two months rather than one, or six months rather than three it can have a huge impact on their life.

"They may not be able to drive to work, or take their children to school."

The research was presented to the European Society of Cardiology conference in Vienna.